Association News
A Standard for Excellence: IACLEA’s Services Answer the Call
Nov 15, 2019
By John Bernhards, Executive Director
The road to excellence is always under construction. As we think and reflect upon both our professional development and our service to community, know that IACLEA is ready and available, offering you the opportunity to build, grow, and thrive throughout your career.
Among the key purposes of IACLEA, like any membership organization, is to bring out the very best in its members. We make this possible by providing a place to share and network, to create best practices, and to establish recognized standards and competencies.
I’d like to focus your attention on two areas in which IACLEA makes it possible for you and your agency to thrive and to be your very best.
IACLEA Accreditation
Among the services in which IACLEA members demonstrate a commitment to excellence is through IACLEA Accreditation, developed by, and for, campus public safety professionals. The IACLEA Accreditation process is for both non-sworn and sworn police and public safety agencies at colleges and universities. It allows agencies to demonstrate compliance with state-of-the-art standards, while retaining policies and programs that are unique to the needs of their campus communities. The IACLEA Accreditation Commission and its assessors work with you— whether you are public or private, large or small, non-sworn or sworn—on a case-by-case basis to determine which standards apply, allowing campus public safety agencies to measure themselves against professional best practices.
While there are many advantages derived from attaining IACLEA Accreditation, the most notable benefit ties back to the issue of campus risk assessment. In recent years, we have seen an emerging focus and action by college and university administrations to adopt Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) as an approach for assessing and mitigating risk. While financial loss has traditionally served as the center spoke for risk assessment policy within higher education, today the focus is much broader. A growing number of institutions now embrace an expanded view of risk management that includes not only financial aspects but also compliance and reputational risk considerations.
Hate crimes, campus assault, protests, cyberattacks, and other safety issues—and how campus police and safety personnel respond to such events—have a direct impact on compliance and reputational risk.
IACLEA Accreditation offers an avenue to explore risk assessment. It provides a venue where institutions can identify areas of risk and minimize vulnerabilities by adopting and adhering to internationally recognized standards for campus safety policies, procedures, and practices.
The Accreditation Commission will convene an orientation call about the Accreditation process on December 4. Please click here to learn more.
IACLEA Training
Secondly, I want to bring your attention to IACLEA’s core service offerings, namely, our popular live training programs. Among them is our First-Line Supervisors Institute, built for current and aspiring first-line supervisors, as well as senior officers, corporals, and sergeants. We’ll be at the University of Houston this January 7–10.
Also on the schedule for March 23–26 is our Executive Development Institute (EDI), to be held at the University of Nevada, Reno. It is the only leadership training institute of its kind, developed and tailored specifically for campus public safety chiefs, directors, and others on the leadership team. Registration for this popular program will open November 15 on the IACLEA website.
Know, too, that IACLEA can bring its training directly to you. For members willing to assemble the participants and organize the venue, IACLEA’s Training on Request solutions address a variety of current and cutting-edge issues, offering training on campus mental health, hate crime, sexual assault, and protest response, among other areas. Click here for details.
Success in campus law enforcement and public safety requires up-to-date training and professional development, as well as adherence to standards and best practices. IACLEA’s tools, training, and Accreditation services are ready for you and at your service. I encourage you to take advantage, and I look forward to your engagement.
Member Resources
CONNECTIONS is IACLEA's member community featuring peer networking and a full library of resources for the betterment of campus public safety.