University Police Accreditation
What is accreditation and why is it important?
Accreditation, under the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ILEAP), is a completely voluntary and ongoing process whereby agencies have their policies and procedures evaluated against established criteria, and have compliance with those criteria verified by an independent and authoritative body.
The accreditation process ensures that we are servicing the Northeastern community to the modern standards set forth by an independent body made up of some of the most experienced professionals in the policing community. University Police applies for accreditation and review every four years.
How do we earn accreditation?
The Northeastern Police Department was subjected to a rigorous day of review, of not only our policies and procedures, but an onsite visit where two experienced reviewers, evaluated our practices to make sure that we do what we have promised.
However, before we are evaluated, we undergo a multi-year process, where we, as a Department, make sure that our standards meet the 71-point criteria set forth by ILEAP.
What does accreditation mean to Northeastern and University Police?
Our accreditation by itself doesn't mean that we are doing a good job, it simply makes sure that we have the tools, training, and knowledge necessary to begin doing a good job. It's a bar that has been set and will continually rise with growing expectation; it’s a point of reference that we in the Police Department can use to map our collective professional growth.
ILEAP accreditation is not easy; in fact, out of the many Police Departments in the State of Illinois, only 38 are accredited. We are one of seven university police departments that have earned the distinction to date. Believe us when we say that this accreditation is a well-earned and rare honor.
