U. Police move toward natl. recognition

Seeking to join a select group of law enforcement agencies across the country, the University of Pennsylvania Police Department has completed more than three-quarters of its national accreditation process, and will likely wrap things up during the summer of 2000. Accreditation Manager Lt. Gary Heller took the reins of the University Police operation in June and is hoping to steer Pennsylvania's largest private police force past the 439 individual standards necessary to become certified by the Fairfax, Va.-based Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, also known as CALEA. Though more and more police forces are discovering the benefits of becoming nationally recognized -- including improved operations and efficiency, higher morale and monetary savings on insurance and lawsuits -- just 22 of the 464 collegiate police departments in the United States are accredited. And by undertaking the project, which began more than two years ago, the 104-member Penn Police force looks to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack. University Police officials first explored the accreditation process in 1996 and officially began working on the project during the spring of 1997. To become certified, University Police must examine the department head-to-toe and amend any areas -- from patrol procedures to budgets to finance to equipment -- that do not match CALEA standards. "It really runs the gambit of the entire operation of the police department," Heller noted. Much of the benefit of accreditation comes from this process, as it forces officials to examine every aspect of their operation and look for potential areas of improvement. In many cases, existing University Police policies and procedures needed little alteration but Heller acknowledged having to "reinvent the wheel" in a handful of areas. But if all goes according to plan, University Police will finish making changes during the spring and will undergo a mock assessment, allowing officials to discover any potential areas of weakness before a team from CALEA arrives for the real evaluation. Should the department eventually become certified, it will submit to additional evaluations every three years -- a fact that will help ensure the Penn Police force remains on its toes. "The whole reason you do accreditation is not just for the sake of being accredited by the CALEA foundation," University Police Chief Maureen Rush said. "In fact, you do it to continually professionalize the department." Heller said he was particularly impressed with the positive response from people involved with the program. "It instills in the officers a sense of pride that they are working for a department that has met these standards and is striving to achieve a high level of operation," Heller said. Because of the prestige that comes with being accredited, the UPPD's ability to attract better officers will likely increase.

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