University Police was awarded the Gold Standard in Public Safety Accreditation Saturday for the fourth time since 2003.
“It is almost like a stamp of approval for the police department that says ‘you’re doing a great job, you’re doing things the right way,’” said Chief of University Police Jack Moorman. “It can really give members of the community that assurance that you’re not just haphazardly making policies or rules, but you’re in line with what the recommendations for what the best law enforcement practices are.”
Most police departments do not get accredited, according to Moorman. He said that many police departments do not bother going through the process because it is very time consuming, and they do not want to bother putting in the work. He also said he believes many do not try to be accredited because they know they would not meet the high standards during the assessments.
However, Moorman thinks that it is important to put in the extra work to get the police department their gold standard accreditation.
“I don’t see a reason why you wouldn’t want to ensure that you are doing the best that you can to serve your community,” Moorman said.
Moorman said that the department updates their policies annually to make sure that they are always staying current. He also said that the process takes a long time and is a lot of work, but since they have been doing this for such a long time that it is not too difficult.
“The main thing is it just ensures that the police department is performing in accordance with the best practices and that you’re really on the cutting edge so to speak, but making sure you’re properly handling everything from your policies and procedures to your promotional process to your documentation of records,” Moorman said.
Moorman accepted the accreditation award on behalf of University Police at the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Conference.
Some of the requirements to be recognized with a gold standard accreditation include having directives that are comprehensive and well-thought-out, as well as having a preparedness program in place so that an agency is ready to address natural or man-made unusual occurrences, according to the CALEA website.
Some benefits of the gold standard accreditation, according to the CALEA website, are developing and improving the department’s relationship with the community, strengthening a department’s accountability and limiting a department’s liability and risk exposure.
“It takes a lot of time, but we are making sure we are doing things the right way,” Moorman said
The department sends their files and policies to trained experts who assess them, then there is an on-site evaluation that takes place before a department can be accredited, according to Moorman. During the on-site evaluation, the assessors speak with members of the department as well as people of the campus community and other police departments that they work with.
“I think that the policies that they have help prevent crime from happening, and their interactive activity with the students such as their security escorts, their engraving system and their security buttons around campus help the student body as a whole feel safer and more protected,” said Emma Munson, a freshman studying psychology.
Munson went on to say how she feels a lot safer knowing that the campus police are here and involved with the community. She also believes that they always handle situations in the right way to help students the most.
“I always see police officers driving around campus, which shows that they are always around and pretty involved. It shows that they really care about what is going on and keeping us safe,” Munson said.
