Accreditation Assessment Team To Review UAPD Policies And Procedures

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In a few weeks, the University of Arkansas Police Department will be assessed by the agency that accredited it in 1995, and the public is invited to help.

A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will arrive April 12, 2003, to examine all aspects of the UAPD’s policy and procedures, management, operation and support services, Director Lawrence Slamons announced today.

Verification by the team that the University of Arkansas Police Department meets the Commission’s state-of the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation, a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence, Slamons said. This is the third on-site assessment of UAPD since being initially accredited by CALEA in July 1995. At that time UAPD became the first nationally accredited law enforcement agency in the State of Arkansas.

As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments at a public information session at 7 p.m., Monday, April 14, 2003. The session will be conducted in room 511 of the Arkansas Student Union, 432 N. Garland Avenue on the University of Arkansas campus.

If an individual cannot speak at the public information session but would still like to provide comments to the assessment team, he or she may do so by telephone. The public may call (479) 435-0182 on April 14, 2003, between 1-5 p.m.

Telephone comments and appearances at the public information session are limited to 10 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards. A copy of the standards is available at the University of Arkansas Police Department by contacting Lt. Vance Rice at (479) 575-7505.

People wishing to offer written comments about the University of Arkansas Police Department’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation are requested to write: Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement, Inc. (CALEA), 10306 Eaton Place, Suite 320 Fairfax, Va. 22030-2201.

The University of Arkansas Police Department has to comply with 361 standards in order to gain accredited status, Slamons said.

"Maintaining accredited status is important," Slamons said. "It ensures that the professional, community-oriented policing services, which have come to be expected by the University of Arkansas community, are maintained."

The Accreditation Program Manager for the University of Arkansas Police Department is Lieutenant Vance Rice. Rice said the assessment team is composed of law enforcement practitioners from similar but out-of-state agencies. The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals, and visit offices and other places where compliance can be observed. Once the Commission’s assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to be granted accredited status, Rice said. The assessors’ names have not yet been released by the CALEA office. Accreditation is for three years, during which the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited.

For more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. please write the Commission at 10306 Eaton Place, Suite 320, Fairfax, Va., 22030-2203; or call 1-800-368-3757 or 1-703-352-4225.