University Policing at Its Best

For Police Chief Jewell Day, and the officers who serve with him at Eastern’s University Police Department, keeping up with best practices in policy, procedures and enforcement techniques has always been crucial to serving and protecting the campus community.

In June, that dedication to professionalism was recognized by a certificate of accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, IACLEA, the nation’s leading authority for campus public safety.

Fewer than 100 agencies have earned this recognition, and Eastern is the only university in Washington to be IACLEA accredited.

“We are extremely proud to have earned our first ever accreditation as a police agency,” Day ’95 says. “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.”

According to its statement of standards, IACLEA accreditation signifies an agency’s ongoing commitment to excellence and state-of-the-art performance in every aspect of its operations. Such standards, it continues, should guide the recruitment, selection, training and professional development of agency personnel and overall agency operations.

Eastern received its accreditation after a rigorous evaluation process that included a site visit to EWU by an IACLEA assessment team. Eastern’s police prepared for the visit, in part, by updating policies and operations. Police officials also gave the public an opportunity to provide comments to the visiting assessors.

Among the benefits of accreditation are increased accountability from agency personnel and a commitment to continuous improvement to maintain excellent operations, Day says. The EWUPD will seek re-accreditation in four years.

“We congratulate the Eastern Washington University Police Department on achieving IACLEA accreditation, a unique distinction among campus police and public safety agencies,” said IACLEA President Paul Dean, chief of police and assistant vice president for public safety and risk management 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.”