April 09, 2025
Col. James F. Grady II, director of the Michigan State Police (MSP), is proud to announce that the MSP was recently awarded national accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®) in the Advanced Law Enforcement Accreditation program.
“The dedicated troopers and civilian members of the Michigan State Police step up every day to serve Michigan communities and save lives,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “We are committed to having their back, investing more than $1.6 billion into public safety and bolstering the ranks of the MSP. Today’s announcement is further evidence of the skill, commitment and hard work these public servants display every single day. I want to thank them, and Colonel Grady, for their leadership and service to Michiganders. Let’s keep working together to keep people safe.”
CALEA’s standards are based on international best practices in public safety and the accreditation process is how a public safety agency voluntarily demonstrates it meets professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery.
“This milestone reflects our commitment to provide every Michigander with high-quality policing services,” said Grady. “Achieving the more than 460 operational and administrative standards within this accreditation required the dedication and effort of every member of our department and I couldn’t be prouder to lead a department committed to holding themselves to the highest of standards.”
The Accreditation follows a multi-year self-assessment phase that began in October 2020, which was followed by an independent assessment that included a site-based assessment of community engagement, policy, procedures, equipment and facilities, as well as interviews with MSP members and others to assess the agency’s effectiveness and overall service-delivery capacities. The decision to accredit was rendered by a governing body of 21 commissioners following a public hearing and review of all reporting documentation.
The Accreditation remains active for four years, during which time the MSP must remain in compliance with CALEA standards and participate in regular reviews as prescribed by the Commission. These reviews are in addition to MSP’s own internal procedures for inspection.
The MSP is one of 13 police agencies in Michigan with CALEA law enforcement accreditation, and just one of seven awarded the prestigious advanced level accreditation. The MSP joins more than 25 other state police agencies around the country in having been awarded CALEA accreditation.
