Top officials at the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office are confident the agency will receive state certification in the near future.

Assessors with the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police spent two days last week reviewing protocol and analyzing data the sheriff’s office compiled for the certification process.

“At the end of their visit, we were 100 percent compliant,” said Lt. Col. John Cagle. “We feel like we’re in very good shape for the certification.”

Citing the need for additional time to prepare for the assessment, Sheriff Billy Carlisle temporarily withdrew from the state certification program in July.

“This is something that I want for our department to show that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, that we are following all the guidelines of state certification,” Carlisle said.

“I have no doubt we weren’t following them before, but having them come in and inspect our records says a lot for us.”
According to Carlisle, the assessors will report their findings to a review board later this summer.

“They said everything looked great and they were going to recommend our certification to the board,” he said.

The sheriff’s office was endorsed as a Georgia State Certified Law Enforcement Operation in 2008.

According to the association’s Web site, “Certification acknowledges the implementation of policies and procedures that are conceptually sound and operationally effective.”

Law enforcement agencies’ participation in the program is voluntary.