CHENEY – The Eastern Washington University Police Department has received accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.
The department demonstrated compliance with national best-practice standards to outside, impartial experts to earn accreditation.
Fewer than 100 agencies have earned this recognition and Eastern police are the only higher education department in the state to be accredited through the association.
“We are extremely proud to have earned our first-ever accreditation as a police agency,” Police Chief Jewell Day said. “This signifies that we have achieved the highest professional standards for policing and have made a commitment to our community to continue being progressive in implementing and adhering to industry best practices and standards in the delivery of police services while maintaining our established standard of professionalism at all times.”
Accreditation signifies an agency’s ongoing commitment to excellence and state-of-the-art performance in its operations, officials said. The standards guide the recruitment, selection, training, and professional development.
“We congratulate the Eastern Washington University Police Department on achieving IACLEA accreditation, a unique distinction among campus police and public safety agencies,” said Paul Dean, association president and chief of police at the University of New Hampshire.
“The men and women protecting your campus have proven through policy and practice the commitment to operate at the highest level of the profession.”
Among the many benefits of accreditation are increased accountability from agency personnel and the agency as a whole and a commitment to continuous improvement to maintain excellent operations.
The Eastern Washington University Police Department prepared for the on-site assessment by updating policies and operations, ensuring the public had the opportunity to provide comments to the outside assessors, and hosting assessors on-site from April 28-30. The agency will seek re-accreditation in four years.
Agency representatives will be recognized for this achievement during the association’s annual Conference & Exposition in June.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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