ASU Police invites public to reaccreditation hearing

March 17, 2015

Arizona State University community members are invited to attend a public hearing April 1 on the Tempe campus to offer comments about the ASU Police Department, as part of an on-site assessment by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA).

The public hearing is part of a voluntary process to gain CALEA accreditation – a highly prized recognition of law enforcement excellence, according to Michael Thompson, ASU chief of police. The accreditation requires law enforcement agencies to comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services.

Accreditation is awarded for three years as long as the subject agency submits annual reports attesting to continued compliance with the standards under which it was initially accredited. The ASU Police Department received initial accreditation in 1997; and then again in 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011.

The hearing begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Computing Commons, room 120, and it will also be broadcast by video teleconference to the other ASU campus locations:

West campus: Faculty Office/Administration (FAB) conference room, S101

Polytechnic: Santa Catalina Hall (SANCA) room 138

Downtown Phoenix: University Center (UCENT) room 317

Individuals unable to attend can still provide comments by calling 480-727-6677 from 1:30 to 3 p.m., April 1. Written comments about the ASU Police Department will also be accepted by writing to: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Blvd., Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155.

Public hearing appearances and telephone comments are limited to 10 minutes each and must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA standards. To review a copy of the standards, call Hilda Godinez, ASU Police Department, at 480-965-2858.

Assessment team members are: Retired Chief Timothy Fitch from the St. Louis County Police Department and Denise Linkenhoker of the Virginia Tech Police Department. The team will examine compliance with the CALEA standards in the four basic areas. Once the assessors complete the agency review, they will provide a report to the full commission for their decision on renewing the ASU Police Department reaccreditation.

For more information about the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., write the commission at 13575 Heathcote Blvd., Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155, or visit http://www.calea.org/.

For more information about the ASU Police Department and to view a contact information list, visit cfo.asu.edu/police or call the Tempe campus department at (480) 965-3456.