The N.C. State Highway Patrol last weekend became the largest law enforcement agency in North Carolina to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc.

The presentation was made to Col. R.W. Holden, commander of the Highway Patrol, and David E. Kelly, secretary of Crime Control & Public Safety, at the CALEA annual conference in Schaumburg, Ill.

CALEA evaluates law enforcement agencies based on 439 standards, including all policies and procedures, organization and management, law enforcement operations, personnel administration and support services. The accreditation process can take up to three years.

“Only four other state highway patrols in the United States have been accredited by CALEA,” Kelly said. “It’s especially reassuring to know that we have passed — and in some cases surpassed — the highest national standard for law enforcement.”

CALEA assessors rated two of the Patrol’s ongoing projects as “exemplary”: the Information Highway Video Conference Facility and the Buckle In Baby Safely (BIBS) program.

The video conference facility features video and audio equipment linked with the State Information Highway to create a distance learning center, so that instructors at the Training Academy in Raleigh can deliver instruction to troopers at 18 sites across the state at one time. The interactive sessions save time and money, because troopers do not have to drive to Raleigh to receive training.

BIBS is a statewide education program begun in 1998 when national studies showed that 70 to 90 percent of child safety seats were installed incorrectly and therefore would not protect the child in a crash. BIBS uses brochures, free safety seat clinics, classroom instruction, news releases and face-to-face contact to ensure that child safety seats are installed correctly and to encourage voluntary compliance with child passenger safety laws. CALEA assessors said that the program appeared to be “immensely popular,” based on calls the assessment team received from the public.

CALEA has been in existence for more than 20 years. It was established by the nation’s four leading law enforcement executive organizations: the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National Sheriffs Association and the Police Executive Research Forum.