State Accreditation

The role of a professional organization is to serve its clients; our role is serving the members of the university community. The manner in which the Carnegie Mellon University Police Department conducts business, operationally as well as administratively, must be consistent with professionally accepted practices and ideals. The members of the university community are entitled to a professional department. In keeping with our Mission Statement and core organizational values of Quality Service and Continual Improvement , we have sought accreditation by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.

Accreditation is a progressive and time-proven way of helping institutions evaluate and improve their overall performance. The cornerstone of this strategy lies in the promulgation of standards containing a clear statement of professional objectives. Participating administrators then conduct a thorough analysis to determine how existing operations can be adapted to meet these objectives. When the procedures are in place, a team of independent professionals is assigned to verify that all applicable standards have been successfully implemented. The process culminates with a decision by an authoritative body that the institution is worthy of accreditation.

Law enforcement accreditation is a method and an ongoing process to ensure that the University Police Department is in compliance with national "best practices" in policing covering all aspects of law enforcement policies, procedures, and operations. Accreditation makes a statement to other law enforcement agencies, professions, and the university community that the University Police Department meets the highest standards of professionalism.

The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association introduced the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program to the Commonwealth in July 2001. Since then, over 230 agencies have enrolled and 45 agencies have attained accredited status. The Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program was designed and developed by professional law enforcement executives to provide a reasonable and cost effective plan for the professionalization of law enforcement agencies within the Commonwealth.

The Carnegie Mellon University Police Department became the first State accredited campus police agency within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania when it received its initial accreditation award on March 10, 2007 - a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence. The department was in full compliance with all applicable standards in order to attain accredited status. The Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program contains 123 standards and 184 sub-standards.

The department achieved accreditation after a two-day review conducted by a team of assessors from the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission that analyzed all aspects of the University Police Department's policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services. The assessment team was composed of law enforcement practitioners from other Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies. The assessors reviewed written materials, interviewed individual officers, and visited offices and other places where compliance was observed. Once the Commission's assessors completed their review of the agency, they reported back to the full Commission on March 6, 2007, that the University Police Department had met the Commission's standards as part of a voluntary process to obtain accreditation.   By obtaining accredited status, the University Police Department joins an elite group of professional law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth that have demonstrated excellence and professionalism in the delivery of law enforcement services to the community in which it serves.

The Accreditation Program Manager for the Carnegie Mellon University Police Department is Lieutenant John M. Race, M.C.J.

The period of accredited status for the Carnegie Mellon University Police Department is three years. During this time, our agency must submit annual reports that document continuing compliance with applicable standards. The achievement of accreditation for the department has resulted in improvements in structure, leadership, organization, general direction, and accountability.   The process of intensive self-assessment has united the department in its commitment to serve the university community through well-written policies and procedures, objective management, and conscious recognition of the need for law enforcement professionalism.