News and Investigations

A team of assessors from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA) will visit the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on April 19, 2022, to examine specific aspects of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office must comply with numerous standards in order to receive accredited status. Many of the standards are critical to life, health, safety issues, and best practices.

The assessment team is composed of law enforcement practitioners from similar agencies throughout the state. The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals, and visit offices and other places where compliance can be witnessed. As part of the assessment, agency members and the general public are invited to offer comments to the assessment team. A copy of the standards manual is available on the CFA website at www.flaccreditation.org, under the standards tab.

For more information regarding CFA or anyone wishing to offer written comments about the Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s ability to meet the standards of accreditation, please write: CFA, P.O. Box 1489 Tallahassee, FL 32302, or email to flaccreditation@fdle.state.fl.us.

“Verification by the assessment team that the Polk County Sheriff’s Office meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art law standards is part of a voluntary process to gain re-accreditation, a highly prized recognition of professional excellence. This is just one of ten national and international accreditations earned by our agency.” - Grady Judd, Sheriff

Once the Commission’s assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to receive re-accreditation for another three years.