Last week, assessors for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies came to Columbia to re-evaluate the MU Police Department’s policies and determine whether they meet the commission’s standards for re-accreditation.
In order to gain re-accreditation, the MU Police Department must meet 357 different standards, some with multiple requirements. The department was last re-accredited in 2006.
At a public meeting Aug. 3, members of the public met with the assessors in Memorial Union to share positive comments and stories about MU police and support the bid for re-accreditation.
The advantage to being accredited by the commission is that MU police are “on the cutting edge of professionalism,” Capt. Brian Weimer of MU Police said last week.
Chief Jack Watring of the MU Police Department will appear before the commission in November to hear its final decision on the department’s accreditation status.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is also accredited by the commission, but the Columbia Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department are not.
“It’s just not been a priority for us at this point,” said Maj. Tom Reddin of the Sheriff’s Department.
Should the Columbia Police Department and Boone County Sheriff's Department also apply for accreditation?