Administration

Lt. Keva Harris has been with the Haines City Police Department since August 2nd 1993. She is the current Administration Division Commander. Division is comprised of Personnel, Purchasing, Planning and Research, Staff Inspections and Public Information. He is also the Direct Supervisor of the Accreditation Unit..

In November 1992, the Haines City Police Department became the thirty-seventh and smallest Internationally Accredited law enforcement agency in Florida by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the first agency to achieve this status in the 10th Judicial Circuit (Polk, Highlands and Hardee Counties). On November 21, 1997 the Haines City Police Department was reaccredited by CALEA for the first time and again on November 21, 2000.

On October 8, 1998, the Haines City Police Department was accredited by the Commission on Florida Accreditation, Inc. (CFA) On October 10, 2001 the department was reaccredited for the first time. As part of the CALEA / CFA Accreditation process, agencies are reviewed every three years to maintain this high level of professionalism.

Law enforcement accreditation emphasizes a voluntary, self-motivated approach for an organization to achieve, objectively verify and maintain high quality operations through evaluation of established standards by an independent, non-governmental body.

Undergoing the voluntary state accreditation process provides an agency with a "quality assurance review" and encourages intense self-scrutiny, resulting in more efficient and effective daily operations. Becoming accredited by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation is considered a significant accomplishment, and this status is held in high esteem by the criminal justice community.

"By choosing to continue participation in the formal and thorough peer review by the Commission, Haines City Police Department can document to the citizens of Florida that it adheres to high standards of professionalism, and is among the finest in the state", notes Chief Tom Wheeler.

The Communications Section has the responsibility of receiving all incoming phone calls and routing them to personnel within the Police Department or dispatching police officers to calls for service. Corporal Angela Pride is the Communications Supervisor.

The beginning of 1997 saw the first year of the Police Department’s new computerized records management program and lap-top report writing system. This is the first time lap-top computers have been utilized to write reports in Haines City. The lap-top system reduces writing by twenty-five to thirty percent and reduces paper use by sixty percent.