The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA) has awarded the Division of Campus Safety (DCS) at the University of Denver with its Campus Security Accreditation. Members of Campus Safety received the award on Nov. 21 at the commission’s conference in Miami.
The CALEA accreditation program is voluntary and requires the University of Denver’s Division of Campus Safety to comply with 294 standards in order to gain accredited status — a prestigious recognition of public safety professional excellence. The standards cover such areas as policies and procedures, crime prevention, organizational management, support services, community advocacy and personnel practices.
“CALEA accreditation has provided us with the opportunity to compare the University of Denver’s Division of Campus Safety to the best law enforcement and security agencies in the world,” says Donald Enloe, director of Campus Safety.
While some college police departments hold accreditation with various accrediting bodies, DU Campus Safety is the first private, non-sworn agency to become accredited by CALEA under the company’s new Campus Security Accreditation program. Only 5 percent of law enforcement agencies in the nation are CALEA-accredited, according to the commission.
Accreditation is for four years, during which DU Campus Safety must submit annual reports that demonstrate continued compliance with the standards under which it was initially accredited.
Becoming accredited was a two-year process that was supported by various partnerships, both on campus and within various levels of government. During this process, DCS reviewed nearly all processes and procedures internally before being reviewed by a CALEA assessment team in September 2015. Many DU community members took part in this assessment process. DCS will host a reception for the DU community and external partners in January 2016.
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