Penn Police gear up for reaccreditation

This weekend, assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies will evaluate Penn Police for its fourth consecutive CALEA accreditation — an optional certification which ensures compliance with CALEA’s standards of law enforcement.

“It’s a prestigious award that sets a bar of excellence,” said CALEA Program Manager Karen Shepard.

Reaccreditation by CALEA occurs every three years. Assessors will review Penn Police’s compliance with more than 400 standards, according to Lt. Gary Heller, accreditation manager for Penn Police.

Shepard said the review involves checking Penn Police’s documentation and conducting interviews with community members and Division of Public Safety personnel.

On Monday, members of the Penn community can share their comments about Penn Police and public safety at Penn with assessors by calling 215-573-6674 between 1 and 5 p.m.

Later that evening, DPS will hold a town-hall style meeting for community members to voice comments to assessors. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at DPS headquarters, located at 4040 Chestnut St.

After assessors leave campus, Shepard explained, they will develop a report, which she will present for approval at a national commission next March in Dallas, Texas.

Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush called CALEA accreditation “a good way to consistently ensure the professionalism of Penn Police,” pointing to the certification as a sort of national benchmark for which Penn Police strives.

Heller agreed. “It’s a lot of work,” he said. “You have to practice what you preach.”

CALEA as a strong defense against civil lawsuits, since it promotes greater accountability within the department.

Penn Police was first accredited in 2001 — a decision which didn’t have a “driving incident,” Heller said.

“It’s something that takes years to get ready for,” Heller said.

According to Rush, Penn Police was the first private police force in Pennsylvania to receive CALEA accreditation.

Penn is still the only college or university in the state of Pennsylvania that has a CALEA-accredited police department, and is one of only 47 colleges and universities in the country that are currently accredited — most of which are large state schools.

The only other Ivy League school with a CALEA-accredited police force is Brown University.

“It’s a Penn tradition,” said Rush. “We always want to be the best.”

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