The University of Delaware Police Department has received Advanced Law Enforcement accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA).

This is the fifth consecutive law enforcement award for the University Police Department, and it came after an extensive self-assessment and review by independent assessors, as well as input from UD officials and the public.

The process this year was particularly noteworthy because the police department’s 911 Center received Communications accreditation for the first time, making it the only 911 center in the state of Delaware, and only the fourth university police department in the country to achieve CALEA Communications accreditation.

During the final CALEA commission review and award, CALEA Commissioner Jean Toal, retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina, congratulated the University of Delaware Police, calling UD’s compliance review “absolutely outstanding.” She noted that the combined evaluations of the main department and the Communications area met 313 standards and 96% of other standards that are not mandatory. “That is underheard of,” she said. “The review, particularly in this difficult COVID time, is really a remarkable one.”

“This accreditation award is a result of the hard work, professional commitment and dedicated service of all members of the University of Delaware Police Department,” said UD Police Chief Patrick Ogden. “CALEA’s standards represent the best practices in law enforcement, as well as communications, and we are committed to the accreditation process as an essential part of our mission in providing high quality law enforcement services to the University community.”

The accreditation process includes a self-assessment, reviewing all department policies, practices and processes against internationally accepted public safety standards. (Please visit https://www.calea.org/5-step-process for additional details.) Independent assessors then gathered public feedback and interviewed select personnel as well as other University administrators. The decision to achieve accreditation is made by a governing body of 21 CALEA commissioners after a public hearing and review of the documentation.

More information about the CALEA is available at the commission's website.