A team from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators completed its assessment of Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety on Monday.

The team arrived Saturday and left Monday to file its report. DPS will learn if it has received accreditation in the next couple weeks. If the department achieves certification, it will be one of only 42 campus public safety departments in the United States to successfully do so. The IACLEA Accreditation Commission will render its decision within the next two weeks.

DPS officers and the IACLEA assessors could not provide many details since the accreditation process is still ongoing, but both were satisfied with how the process went.

“I can’t share details since we’re still going through the process. (But), all of the interactions that we have had with the DPS, all the comments (from the community) that we have heard have been very positive,” said Captain Gary Heller, the assessment team leader. “The department has assisted us in our efforts and they’ve been very accommodating.”

Andrea Stagnari, DPS’s manager for accreditation, compliance and grants, said she thought the assessment went well.

“We were very prepared and very busy the last couple days,” Stagnari said. “It was a very good assessment and we’re happy with the outcome.”

Hannah Warren, the public information and internal communications officer for DPS, wasn’t involved in the process, but was optimistic about the outcome.

“They ended up going back to their resident police departments pretty quick,” she said. “It should be good news. We’ve got our fingers crossed.”

If everything goes according to DPS’s plan, the department has a good chance to receive accreditation. Jack Leonard, the director of accreditation at IACLEA, suggested that failure was unusual since departments volunteer to be examined.

“Candidate agencies may be denied accreditation if they fail to comply with all relevant and applicable standards. However, this has not occurred in the six years that our program has existed,” he said in an email.

The assessment team’s report, to be filed by Heller, must pass a few reviews before a final decision is made, Leonard said. First, Heller will submit the assessment team’s final report. A Compliance Review Panel, made up of IACLEA Accreditation Commission members, will then review that report. If that panel approves the report, its recommendation goes to the full IACLEA Accreditation Commission for their final approval, Leonard said.

Accreditation is granted for a four-year period. So, once the IACLEA accredits a department, that department must submit an annual report to demonstrate its compliance with all relevant standards, as well as to report any big issues or changes, Leonard said.

“At the end of the four-year accreditation cycle, the department must undergo another on-site visit by an assessment team that will evaluate their policies and procedures,” he explained.

Published on January 28, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Jake: acappucc@syr.edu