University police accreditation shows high standards

Backed by the laws of the commonwealth, Penn State police carry with them the authority of any uniformed police officer.

And now, for the first time, the university’s department is among an elite group of agencies nationwide to receive accreditation from an agency that recognizes commitment to excellence in law enforcement.

With jurisdiction on all property owned or leased by Penn State, Assistant Chief William Moerschbacher said officers are the same as any other officer you’d find on the street — able to conduct criminal investigations, possessing full arrest authority and the ability to execute search warrants.

With 120 officers covering 23 campuses across the state, the force is quite large, he said. About 50 officers serve on the University Park campus alone.

Their basic training is no different from other officers in the commonwealth, he said, as it mandates the same basic training for all officers in the state. Municipal and university police officers attend the same state police academy.

“We actually just had two people graduate from the police academy at (Harrisburg Area Community College on Monday),” Moerschbacher said.

Once graduated, new officers are paired with experienced officers for field training, he said. Field training times vary, as Penn State also hires officers with experience who often need less time than a brand-new graduate.

Moerschbacher said officers each year conduct about 4,500 to 5,000 investigations, which vary in complexity from burglary and harassment to embezzlement, sexual assault and deaths on campus. University police also routinely work in tandem with State College, Bellefonte and Patton, Ferguson and Spring township police departments.

In fact, he said, Penn State and the partnering municipalities all have members who serve on the Centre County Tactical Response Team. It’s also not unusual for university police officers to work with federal agents if a presidential candidate visits campus.

“Basically, if Penn State were a town, we’d be the police force,” Moerschbacher said.

The department’s operational standards are so high that on Nov. 21, the university police received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., according to a Penn State news release.

CALEA is an independent, nonprofit credentialing agency, the release said, that conducted an in-depth review and assessment in June. The on-site assessment included interviews with multiple Penn State departments and reviewed the police’s written policies and procedures.

This is the first time Penn State applied for and received the accreditation, the release said, which only 3 percent of law enforcement agencies in the country complete. It’s the primary method for an agency to voluntarily demonstrate its commitment to excellence in law enforcement.

The accreditation will last four years, the release said, during which Penn State will submit annual reports for review by CALEA.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "University police accreditation shows high standards."