The Rockford Police Department has a full-time training division and certified training staff that provides training to all of our personnel throughout the entire year. Rockford Police Officers receive continuous training using examples of what constitutes reasonable force under varying circumstances.
The Rockford Police Department was a CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) certified law enforcement agency and is now transitioning to ILEAP (Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program) certification.
Accreditation is the ongoing process whereby agencies evaluate policy and procedure against established criteria and have compliance with those criteria verified by an independent and authoritative body. The independent and authoritative body for ILEAP is the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Council. The criteria, or standards, are policy development guidelines that represent a level of quality service delivery. The true indicator of compliance, however, lies with an evaluation by trained, independent professional peers. The establishment of meaningful and professional standards and an evaluation for compliance with those standards are the two fundamentals of an accreditation program. The Rockford Police Department is scheduled for accreditation by ILEAP the week of July 13, to July 17, 2020.
In November 2018, the Rockford Police Department adopted the Ten Shared Principles developed through collaboration between the NAACP and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. The Ten Shared Principles were created in 2018 and represent treating everyone with dignity and respect, rejecting discrimination, building trust and strong relationships within our communities, endorsing the values of community policing, and supporting diversity within our organizations.