A team of Assessors from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) will arrive on Sunday, January 25, 2015 to examine all aspects of the Department of Public Safety’s policy and procedures, management, operation, and support services, Interim Chief Jill Lentz announced today.
Verification that the Syracuse University Department of Public Safety meets IACLEA’S state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation – a highly-prized recognition of campus public safety professional excellence.
Syracuse University employees, DPS employees and the public are invited to offer comments by calling 315-443-0131 on Monday, January 26, 2015, between the hours of 10:00am and 12:00pm.
Comments will be taken by members of the Assessment Team, not DPS personnel.
Telephone comments must address the department’s ability to comply with IACLEA’s standards. A copy of the standards is available at the Department of Public Safety, 005 Sims Hall, located at 130 College Place on the Syracuse University campus.
Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the Department of Public Safety’s ability to comply with the standards for accreditation may send them to IACLEA, 342 North Main Street, West Hartford, CT 06117-2507.
The Department of Public Safety must comply with 239 standards in order to achieve accredited status. The DPS undertook the challenge of gaining accreditation for a number of reasons. Accreditation provides a professional benchmark with which to measure policies and procedures. It also ensures those practices are well-documented, Department personnel receive clear guidance, and qualified personnel are recruited and retained long-term.
Moreover, the process may serve to assure the University administration, University community, and other local law enforcement agencies of the quality of DPS services.
The Accreditation Manager for the Department of Public Safety is Andrea Stagnari. She said the Assessment Team is composed of experienced campus law enforcement professionals from in-state and out-of-state. The Assessors will review written materials, interview individuals and inspect facilities where compliance can be witnessed. The Assessors are: Captain Gary Heller, Amtrak Police Department, Team Leader; Sergeant Kevin Roberto (Ret.), University of Connecticut Police Department; Assistant Director Stacy DeRooy, Rochester Institute of Technology. Once the Assessors complete their review of the DPS, they will report back to IACLEA, which will then decide if the Department will be granted accredited status.
Accreditation is for four (4) years, during which the Department must submit annual reports attesting to continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited.
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