Public session is May 7

Accreditation team will evaluate Brown’s Police and Security Services

A team from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. will visit the Brown campus beginning Saturday, May 5, as part of a program to retain accreditation. Members of the Brown community and the public are invited to offer comments at a public session on Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m. in Salomon Center.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Brown University Department of Police and Security Services is scheduled for an on-site assessment beginning Saturday, May 5, as part of a program to retain accreditation.

Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA), the accreditation program requires agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services. Accreditation is for three years. During that time, the agency must submit annual reports attesting to continued compliance with the standards under which it was initially accredited.

Police and Security Services initially was accredited in July 1998. Brown’s is one of only three nationally accredited law enforcement agencies in Rhode Island. The other two are the Rhode Island State Police and the Warwick Police Department

As part of the on-site assessment, members of the Brown community and the public are invited to offer comments at a public information session on Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m. The session will be held in room 101 of Salomon Center, located on The College Green.

The CALEA assessment team also will accept comments from the Brown community and the public by telephone on Monday, May 7, between 1 and 5 p.m. Telephone (401) 863-9943 to speak with a member of the assessment team.

Telephone comments as well as 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 Brown University Department of Police and Security Services, 75 Charlesfield St., Providence, R.I. To review these standards, contact contact Lt. Bruce Holt, the accreditation manager for Police and Security Services, at (401) 863-3313.

Anyone wishing to submit comments about the ability of Police and Security Services to comply with the standards of accreditation may send them to the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), 10306 Eaton Pl., Suite 320, Fairfax, Va., 22030-2201.

Holt 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 witnessed.

Once CALEA’s assessors complete their review, they report back to the full commission, which will then decide whether Police and Security Services is to be granted accredited status, Holt said.