Accreditation

In 2015, the SUNY Geneseo Police Department became the ninth New York State University Police Department to achieve accreditation status from the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Accreditation is an ongoing process. Accredited agencies must complete an annual compliance survey and submit to an assessment every five years from the New York State Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Council. In January of 2020, thanks to the department staff’s hard work, SUNY Geneseo passed the assessment, becoming re-accredited for another five years.

The New York State Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Program is a voluntary program providing agencies with a mechanism to evaluate and improve their overall effectiveness and staff performance. The program encompasses four principal goals:

1. To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement agencies utilizing existing personnel, equipment, and facilities to the extent possible;
2. To promote increased cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies and other agencies of the criminal justice services;
3. To ensure the appropriate training of law enforcement personnel; and
4. To promote public confidence in law enforcement agencies.

By maintaining accreditation, the SUNY Geneseo Police Department is recognized as an agency whose policies and practices meet or exceed the 110 standards established by the Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Council in administration, training, and operations. The administrative standards cover such topics as agency organization, fiscal management, personnel practices, and record keeping. Training standards include basic and in-service instruction, training for supervisors, and specialized or technical assignments. Operations standards encompass safe handling of persons in custody, criminal investigations, and disaster plans.

Inspector Petersen and Officer LoPiano currently manage the SUNY Geneseo Police Department accreditation program and are certified through New York State as accreditation managers. Additionally, they are both certified assessors who perform assessments on other agencies looking to become accredited, or agencies ready for five-year re-accreditation.

For more information regarding the accreditation program, see the New York State Department of Criminal Justice website: criminaljustice.ny.gov/ops/accred/.