New Hanover Co. Sheriff’s Office meets national gold standard

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is in the top five percent of law enforcement agencies in the nation after an accreditation.

Sheriff Ed McMahon said he asked the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies  to come in and judge everything they do.

McMahon said the commission looked at everything from their paperwork, to their body cameras, to their cars.
CALEA came to look at the Sheriff’s Office in April and then awarded it the gold standard meaning their practices are considered the best in the nation. McMahon said they are one of five agencies in the state with this accreditation.

CALEA said their goals are:

• Strengthen crime prevention and control capabilities;
• Formalize essential management procedures;
• Establish fair and nondiscriminatory personnel practices;
• Improve service delivery;
• Solidify interagency cooperation and coordination; and
• Increase community and staff confidence in the agency.

McMahon said it took more than three years of hard work and support from the county commissioners to make this happen, but it was worth it.

“Praise the lord,” McMahon said. “It was very, very exciting. It made it all worth while, so it was a long long road and it’s a lot of hard work and there were many times where I felt like giving up myself, but you just have to stick to it.”

McMahon says this accreditation will last for three years and they he says they plan to have it done again.