Assessing the correlates of CALEA accreditation: a state-of-the-art review

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to synthesize empirical research on the correlates of Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) accreditation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors performed keyword searches across 132 criminal justice, policing, and public administration journals to identify peer-reviewed articles that examine the relationship between CALEA accreditation and any output or outcome. Two keyword searches were utilized “commission on accreditation for law enforcement agencies” and “commission on accreditation of law enforcement agencies” in the event that authors misnamed the accrediting body. Only quantitative articles that utilized inferential statistics were included in the sample given that the authors aimed to assess the relationship between CALEA law enforcement accreditation and outputs and outcomes.FindingsOverall, there is a paucity of research on the relationship between CALEA accreditation and outputs and outcomes. Only nineteen, peer-reviewed, studies that utilize inferential statistics have been published on the topic as of the end of 2021. The largest number of studies explore the relationship between CALEA accreditation and community-oriented policing and gender representation. Given the dearth of quantitative studies on CALEA accreditation, and the lack of studies using experimental or quasi-experimental designs, current findings on the topic should not be viewed as proof of cause and effect relationships but as correlations.Originality/valueThis article represents the first systematic review of the correlates of CALEA accreditation.