BUPD Up for National Accreditation
Community invited to opine to assessment team
Pursuing a national seal of approval for law enforcement, the Boston University Police Department needs to meet a few standards. All 482 of them.
From crime analysis to officer training to balancing the books, the BUPD must demonstrate to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) that it meets best practices. Assessors will spend four days on campus during the first week of August, BUPD Chief Thomas Robbins says.
Accreditation would bring “a highly prized recognition of public safety professional excellence,” the chief says. (Prized indeed: Virginia’s state police are seeking CALEA’s coveted blessing, and the California Highway Patrol was accredited in 2010.) More than recognition, accreditation would also boost morale and officers’ focus on their jobs, benefits that Robbins says followed the department’s accreditation by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission two years ago.
BU community members are invited to give comments to the assessors during a public meeting at the George Sherman Union on Monday, August 5, at 6 p.m. Those unable to attend can submit comments by calling 617-358-6732 on August 5, between 10 a.m. and noon. You may also provide comments via the BUPD’s feedback form or the feedback questions on the BUPD’s “MyPD” smartphone app. Finally, you may send written comments to CALEA, 10302 Eaton Place, Suite 100, Fairfax, VA 22030-2215.
CALEA’s blessing would mark the first national accreditation for BU’s 50-officer department, BUPD Detective Lieutenant Peter DiDomenica says.
Founded in 1979, CALEA uses assessment teams of “public safety practitioners from similar but out-of-state police agencies,” according to BUPD Sergeant Jack St. Hilaire. He says the team will review the department’s written materials, conduct on-campus interviews, and observe officers performing their duties. Chief Thomas Engelis, of the University of Texas Medical Branch Police Department, and Captain Zandral Washington, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Police Department, will comprise the assessment team.
CALEA bestows a three-year accreditation, which likely would begin in November, Robbins says.
The BU community is invited to attend a public meeting with the CALEA assessors on Monday, August 5, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the second floor Conference Auditorium at the George Sherman Union, 775 Commonwealth Ave.
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