Reduce Accreditation Prep Time with a Compliance Management System

Find out how accreditation management software helps your agency reduce accreditation prep time and maintain law enforcement compliance.

August 24, 2022

Article Highlights

Law enforcement accreditation allows departments to showcase their commitment to excellence and promote a positive perception of their organization. But assessment preparation for accreditation means law enforcement agencies need to prove that they’re maintaining compliance with policies, procedures, and CALEA standards. PowerDMS’s compliance management system, PowerStandards, helps you build efficient processes for accreditation prep to make the accreditation process faster and more manageable. 

The problem: Laborious assessment prep

Given your department’s already limited resources, you may be hesitant to add another to-do item to your plate. Preparing for accreditation assessments takes a lot of time and energy, especially if your organization doesn’t have a compliance management system in place. 

Inefficient document management leaves you scrambling to find scattered policies and reviewing multiple versions of the same document to see which one is the most up-to-date. This often involves frustrating back and forth through email if you have limited collaboration tools. These manual procedures make it hard for law enforcement organizations to track assessment status or perform a self-review before an onsite assessment – leading to even more uncertainty and frustration. 

At the end of the day, an inefficient assessment prep process means you have less time to dedicate to other important work, like staying up-to-date with current public safety best practices. But preparing accreditation documents and conducting compliance monitoring assessments doesn’t have to be this challenging. 

The solution: Accreditation management software  

PowerDMS’s accreditation management software, PowerStandards, streamlines document management and collaboration to help your law enforcement agency maintain compliance and efficiently prepare for your accreditation assessment. We partner with more than 60 accreditation bodies, including almost all state and national law enforcement accrediting bodies, to cultivate a library of electronic standards manuals. 

When an accreditation body makes a change to a standard, the new version is automatically uploaded to the cloud. You can even subscribe to receive notifications when a change is made to ensure your policies still meet standards or make adjustments if they don’t. PowerStandards also lets departments convert most standards manuals for use directly in the system to ensure your policies stay up-to-date with accreditation requirements. 

Other important features of the accreditation management software are listed in the table below: 

Feature

Use 

Standards mapping

Upload policies, procedures, and other proof of compliance (like documents, videos, and images) to standards to demonstrate compliance.  

Digital highlighting 

Digitally highlight certain areas in a document to draw attention to the section and emphasize how it meets standards.

Link policies to CAPRA standards

Receive automatic notifications when an update impacts a policy linked to that standard, so you can make any needed changes.

To ensure you’re prepared for an onsite visit, your agency can also use PowerStandards to conduct self-assessments. This includes having mock assessors log in to review documents, leave comments, and upload documentation for specific standards. Your organization can then make any needed changes before or after the visit, as well as save notes for future reference, like applying for reaccreditation. 

Finally, PowerStandards makes it easy for individuals in your agency to collaborate throughout the accreditation assessment process. In the system, you can create recurring tasks associated with standards, then assign them to relevant staff for completion to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Employees can even upload narratives and other evidence of compliance, and complete tasks directly in the platform – reducing your need for inefficient communication by email or unnecessary meetings.

The benefits of a compliance management system

By providing a centralized repository to access accreditation standards and ensure your agency’s policies and procedures maintain compliance, PowerStandards reduces assessment prep time by an average of 50%. Its streamlined, automated document management tools make it easy to stay aligned with the most recent standards and increase accountability across your agency. 

Each of these benefits means that you’re not only ready for your accreditation assessment, but you’re also prepared to provide the highest level of public safety services to your community. 

Get started 

Schedule a demo to learn how our accreditation management software, PowerStandards, can help your organization maintain accountability and achieve law enforcement accreditation without the stress.

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