On May 6, Cornell became the first university in New York to be accredited by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) for its police department.

IACLEA is an internationally recognized association that represents campus public safety leaders at more than 1,200 institutions of higher education, offering accreditation to colleges and university law enforcement, security and public safety departments. IACLEA accreditation attests that the highest standards for campus law enforcement and protective services are being met in such areas as organization and administration, training and career development, patrol, traffic operations, crime prevention and investigation, and evidence collection and management.

"The Cornell police are dedicated to the safety and well-being of our campus community, and it is a special honor to receive confirmation that the Cornell University Police Department meets the highest standards for campus law enforcement," said Mary George Opperman, vice president for human resources. The award will be formally presented to representatives of the CUPD at the annual IACLEA conference in St. Louis June 19.

The process of applying for accreditation began three years ago, under the leadership of then police chief Curtis Ostrander -- since retired -- who was responsible for several of the department's strengths noted in the accreditation, said Cornell Chief of Police Kathy Zoner. These include: an outstanding customer service orientation, timely communications with the Cornell and local communities, and cutting-edge patrol car equipment, she said.

When Zoner became interim chief last July, given the university's financial challenges, the department needed to identify opportunities to gain efficiencies. Zoner and her leadership team used that necessity to strengthen the department's accreditation possibilities. "We reviewed all operational procedures and reporting structures -- the same things that IACLEA would be evaluating in its on-site visit (held this past April) and review of the university's accreditation application," she said.

After several years of extensive research and cost-benefit analysis, the department decided to purchase public safety software from Spillman Technologies to help in the compilation of data about campus crimes, enhance computer-aided dispatch and enable police officers to access critical records data and search state and national databases both in the office and from their vehicle laptops.

In addition to addressing technological inefficiencies through this software purchase, the team restructured the department, giving up three open positions to absorb budget cuts and shifting or merging responsibilities.

"By looking at what the department needed as a whole, we were able to realign some of these positions," Zoner said. "We simplified the reporting structure and divided the responsibilities into two sets of services -- operations and administration."

The operations area oversees day-to-day crime prevention, investigation and campus law enforcement deployment, traffic enforcement responsibilities, foot and bike patrol deployment, and security for special events. The administrative area manages telecommunications (the campus 911 call center), accreditation and fleet usage, and keeps the CUPD records, including incidents of harassment, crime statistics, and alcohol and substance abuse data.