A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will visit Drexel University from July 9-12 to evaluate all aspects of the Drexel University Police Department’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services.
Verification by the team that the Drexel Police Department meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to retain CALEA accreditation — a highly valued recognition of public safety professional excellence. Drexel Police was first awarded CALEA law enforcement accreditation in November 2011.
“I have been involved with police accreditations since 2010, with three different law enforcement agencies and find accreditation a positive means to improve community relations and performance of the police department,” said Eileen Behr, Drexel’s vice president of Public Safety. “The accreditation process allows Drexel Police to develop policies and procedures based on recognized national standards and demonstrate that we are meeting those standards in our daily operations.”
According to Behr, CALEA focuses on standards and performance evaluations that develop an agency’s relationship with the community, defines responsibilities of the police officers and measure the police effectiveness within the community. The CALEA reaccreditation process will provide Drexel Police with an independent audit and inspection of its policies and procedures.
“CALEA will assist Drexel Police in ways to improve our community relationships and internal procedures to allow us to better serve the public,” said Behr.
As part of the on-site assessment, agency personnel and members of the Drexel and surrounding communities are invited to offer comments at a public information session on Tuesday, July 11, starting at 3 p.m. The session will be held in the media room of the Daskalakis Athletic Center at the corner of 33rd and Market Streets.
Those who would like to participate in the public discussion, but are unavailable to attend, can call 215.571.3596 on July 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Calls as well as appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA standards. A copy of the standards is available at Drexel’s Department of Public Safety located at 3201 Arch Street, room 350.
Written comments about the Drexel University Police Department’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation are also encouraged and can be mailed to: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia 20155.
Drexel’s police department must comply with 484 standards in order to gain accredited status. Accreditation is for three years, during this time the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with the standards under which it was initially accredited.
For more information on Drexel’s accreditation process, contact Jane Kelly, accreditation manager, Drexel University Department of Public Safety, at 215.895.6345 or jbk53@drexel.edu.