Law Enforcement Accreditation: The Intersection of Effective Policy, Risk Management, Community Policing, and Police Reform

Jeffrey Smythe is the Director of the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Division for the State of North Carolina. Prior to his appointment in 2021, Director Smythe served honorably for 35 years in law enforcement which included serving as the Chief of Police for the Burlington (NC) Police Department for 8 years and the Chief of Police for the Show Low (AZ) Police Department for 5 years. His additional police experience includes 3 years with the Arizona State University Police Department and 19 years with the Scottsdale (AZ) Police Department.

Director Smythe has an extensive background related to accreditation having been the Accreditation Manager for the Initial Accreditation of the Scottsdale PD in 1991, the Chief when Show Low PD was accredited the first time, a CALEA assessor for a period, and has been a CALEA Commissioner for 6 years. He is also responsible for managing the NC Law Enforcement Accreditation program and is a member of both the NC Law Enforcement Accreditation Network and AccredNet, the national association of state-based accrediting bodies.

As a seasoned veteran of police accountability, leadership, and accreditation, Kevin E. Rhea joined the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police (AACOP) in July 2018 to develop the Arizona Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. Kevin took this program from concept to reality in three months, including the development of program infrastructure, standards development, program budgets, and training of agency accreditation managers and independent assessors.

A 25-year veteran of the Novi (MI) Police Department, Sergeant Rhea was responsible for serving as the agency Accreditation Manager for both the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc (CALEA) and the Michigan Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (MLEAC).Sergeant Rhea also had the pleasure of working as an Assessor for CALEA. Sergeant Rhea earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Ferris State University and his Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) Degree from Eastern Michigan University. Kevin is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Liberty University, seeking his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice Leadership.

Ed's career spans a total of 35 years of public and government service in law enforcement. Ed formerly served in the US Army as a Military Policeman and Investigator. Following his military service, Ed served with the Urbana Police Division-Ohio until he retired in 2016, culminating in 28 years of LE service. He held various assignments in patrol, community policing, investigations, training, staff inspections, and support functions at both officer and supervisory/management ranks. He has served on numerous committees and task forces in his career and received several commendations and awards.

Ed is currently the Director of Law Enforcement Services for OCJS, the lead justice planning agency in Ohio. He currently manages the Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Agency Certification program and is creating and developing Ohio's first statewide law enforcement accreditation program. He also serves on numerous task forces and committeess throughout the state of Ohio.

A native of Austin, Texas - Max began career in law enforcement in 1983 and retired from the Austin Police Department in 2009. Max then became the chief of police for the Texas State Comptroller - CID and has been a governmental consultant since 2011. Westbrook holds an undergraduate and graduate degree in Criminal Justice and attended the FBI NA - #224, DUCA - DEA, and Leadership Command College at LEMIT. Max and his business partner, Chief Bruce Mills (Ret) own Public Safety Solutions, LLC and provide a variety of governmental consulting services to police agencies in the State of Texas. Max is also the director of the Texas Police Chiefs Association Best Practices Accreditation Program and has held that position for the past nine years.