Clarion University Police Department has earned accreditation by the Pennsylvania
Chiefs of Police Association, making it one of seven university police departments
in the state and the only department in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
to attain the status.
"Accreditation is a progressive and time-proven way of helping institutions evaluate and improve their overall performance," according to pachiefs.org, the website for Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.
The department, led by Chief Jason Hendershot, was assessed on 132 standards, 32 of which were not applicable. When Hendershot came to Clarion in January 2015, departmental accreditation was among his goals.
"The accreditation process assures that the department is following best practices in law enforcement," Hendershot said. "When I arrived at Clarion, the officers were already doing the majority of work they need to do to become accredited, so they should be recognized for that work."
Hendershot said his first year at Clarion was an evaluation period to see what was needed to achieve accreditation.
"I wanted to pursue this because the process serves as a guide to improve the function of the work we do. In higher education, accreditation is widely understood as a positive acknowledgement that work is being done the right way," he said. "When I saw all the things this department was doing well, I saw it as an opportunity to recognize the staff and the work they do every day."
Clarion's department includes 10 sworn, full-time officers, a security guard, fire safety manager and three dispatchers/administrative staff.
"Most of the officers see the (accreditation) as getting everyone on the same page as opposed to having different officers handle work processes differently," Hendershot said. "The new officers appreciate the ability to look at policies and see how they are supposed to perform certain functions. It also helped that I was able to provide support to the accreditation managers, Sgt. Dan Siegel and Cpl. Shane White, along the way, based on my involvement with the Pennsylvania Chiefs Accreditation Program."
Of the approximately 1,117 law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania, only 116 – or 10 percent – have been accredited. Other agencies accredited by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police include the Pennsylvania State Police, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia police, and Duquesne, Lehigh and Carnegie Mellon – where Hendershot worked for 15 years prior to Clarion – universities.
Benefits include:
• Establishes a credible framework for evaluating agency practices and procedures;
• Improves relations between law enforcement and the community;
• Increases employee input, interaction and confidence in the agency;
• Identifies and highlights the capabilities and competence of the agency;
• Furnishes a solid foundation for the agency to build upon for further progress;
• Provides reliable methods to improve essential management procedures;
• Enhances planning and innovative activities by all agency personnel;
• Develops improved methods for providing services to the community;
• Encourages problem-solving activities within the agency.
"This superior standard of excellence exemplifies the level of commitment we have to providing safe and comfortable surroundings for our students," said Dr. Susanne Fenske, vice president for student affairs. "We know our students can be most successful on a campus where they feel their needs are addressed on a daily basis. The university police play a critical role in meeting those needs by allowing the students to feel they are engaged in a secure environment."
The accreditation status is valid for three years, during which time Clarion's department is required to show it is maintaining compliance.
More information about the accreditation program is available at http://www.pachiefs.org/accreditation.