In November of 2007, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office was awarded re-accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (

A team of assessors from CALEA spent five days conducting an on-site inspection of the Sheriff’s Office in August of 2007, to examine all aspects of the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services.  The assessors presented their report to a CALEA committee who conducted a hearing at the national conference in Colorado Springs, and recommended re-accreditation be awarded to the Sheriff’s Office.  At the awards ceremony, the full commission followed the recommendation, and unanimously approved the award.

Verification by the Commission that the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office meets their state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain international recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.  The Sheriff’s Office first gained National Accreditation status in 1994, becoming the 295th Nationally Accredited Law Enforcement Agency in the Nation.  Since then, the Sheriff’s Office has successfully achieved re-accreditation status four times.

The accreditation process has provided the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office with the standards that reflect the best professional requirements and practices for a law enforcement agency.

Sheriff Meyers stated that this award is indicative of the quality of police services performed by the men and women of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office every day.  To be internationally recognized for our efforts, is extremely an honor.