Status Given Upon Rigorous Review of Meeting Hundreds of Law Enforcement Standards

Northeastern’s Police Department has been accredited by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission for delivering an exemplary level of police service in the Northeastern community. Under the leadership of Chief D. Joseph Griffin, Northeastern’s is the 26th police agency in Massachusetts to receive accreditation, and only the third college or university police department to receive this honor.

As part of the rigorous and thorough peer-review carried out by a team of commission-appointed assessors in late 2007,the NUPD met close to 340 standards related to all aspects of law enforcement, including training, management, operation and technical support activities.

The accreditation requirements include written policy directives for most policies and procedures (also reflected by the staff manual), as well as close observation standards carried out by the accreditation team to verify that the written directives are fully understood and practiced by the staff.

The self-assessment and the preparation for the on-site review were led by Staff Sgt. Ralph Avery. Avery was appointed accreditation manager by Griffin and was assisted by Associate Director James Ferrier throughout the process.

“This honor is an indication of the department’s high level of professionalism,” said Avery. “The accreditation underscores our interest and willingness to grow by having others scrutinize and evaluate our performance in order to become one of the best departments in the state of Massachusetts.”

The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission offers two levels or recognition for police agencies, certification and accreditation. While not a prerequisite to accreditation, many agencies choose to pursue certification first by demonstrating compliance with approximately half of the 340 standards required by accreditation.The NUPDdid so, and was initially awarded certification in 2003.

Currently there are 16 certified agencies in addition to the 26 accredited departments, and nearly 100 additional agencies are in the self-assessment phase pursuing certification or accreditation. Accreditation is awarded for three years.

For more information, please contact Renata Nyul at 617-373-7424 or at r.nyul@neu.edu.

About Northeastern

Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in the heart of Boston. Northeastern is a leader in interdisciplinary research, urban engagement, and the integration of classroom learning with real-world experience. The university’s distinctive cooperative education program, where students alternate semesters of full-time study with semesters of paid work in fields relevant to their professional interests and major, is one of the largest and most innovative in the world. The University offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in six undergraduate colleges, eight graduate schools, and two part-time divisions. For more information, please visit www.northeastern.edu.