(Dothan,AL)--The Dothan Police Department is now an accredited agency. The department has been seeking National Accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, (CALEA) since 2008.

To achieve accreditation, the police department had to edit and publish a complete series of General Orders. For employees, that process included continuous training of the force, on-site assessments, and other procedures.

"We have always thought that we could do better and we felt that this is the way to go," Chief Gregory Benton said. "We have found a system that works and we're going to continue to do our best and better our community," he said.

In order to maintain accreditation, the police department will be reviewed every three years.