Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ILEAP)
ILEAP and Use of Force Certification Director Jeff Hamer For information about ILEAP or to learn how to get started, contact ILEAP Director Jeff Hamer.  ILACP and ILEAP are looking for 25 agencies to participate in the COPS grant. Essentially, we have crafted a fool-proof plan to remove financial roadblocks and reduce the administrative footprint of ILEAP, Tier 2 accreditation. Grant Opportunity: i. To be eligible for the Grant Opportunity, your agency must be a “new” accreditation (no existing accredited agencies, sorry). So, if you know of agencies feeling out accreditation, let them know there is no better time than now to do it for practically free and the ILEAP staff will help walk you through it.
NOTE ABOUT STANDARDS: ILEAP standards were revised in 2022 and are SAFE-T Act compliant. See the link below to download the THIRD EDITION of the ILEAP Manual.
ILEAP DOCUMENTS
ILEAP RESOURCES
ILEAP ACCREDITATION VIDEO TUTORIALS: SUMMARY of ILEAP The Standards Standards were updated in 2022 and are SAFE-T Act compliant. The standards are divided into four general subject areas: Administration, Operations, Personnel, and Training. All are mandatory except for those that are “not applicable” by function. The two tiers are not based on size, but on how comprehensive the accreditation.
Direct Costs Annual fee: Effective January 1, 2019, departments first applying for ILEAP accreditation or applying for reaccreditation after January 1, 2019, will be assessed an annual fee of $400 for Tier 1 accreditation or $800 annually for Tier 2 accreditation. The first annual payment is due at the time of application, and that would satisfy the current year’s fee. The date of payment of the application fee is considered the first year of the annual cycle. Then the annual fee in subsequent years would be due any time during the calendar year, but the department will be invoiced in January each year. Agencies that applied for or received accreditation or reaccreditation before January 1, 2019, will not begin paying the annual fee until the year their next reaccreditation occurs. On-Site Assessment The on-site consists of two days of file review, interviews, and ride-alongs. The assessors arrive the night before to meet and plan, and then they proceed to the PD around 8:00 a.m. the next day. There is a two-hour phone-in session, but no public hearing. The exit interview is between noon and 4:00 p.m. on day two. The on-site can be accomplished in two days because most of the files will be reviewed off-site prior to the assessors’ arrival and travel time is limited. Council Review The lead assessor submits an Assessment Report to the ILEAP Accreditation Council Chair, who reviews and distributes the report to the Council for its review and action. If granted, accreditation is valid for four (4) years. Award Ceremony A member of the ILACP Board of Officers, the ILEAP Director, or the ILEAP Coordinator will present the plaque honoring a department for achieving accreditation. This will take place at a local ceremony (City Council meeting, Village Board meeting, Department meeting, etc.). ILEAP Council Chair: Dave Bradford - Retired Executive Director, Center for Public Safety, Northwestern University, Evanston. ILEAP Council Members: Dave Bradford - Chairman ILEAP Council Liaison: Holly Nearing - Ret. Champaign Deputy Chief for Professional Standards |
