New York State University Police at Binghamton earn DCJS accreditation

New York State University Police at Binghamton have been accredited by the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).

The accreditation was awarded in early December, said Chief of Police John Pelletier, and extends for five years before reaccreditation is necessary.

The process, which included a rigorous review of all University Police policies and procedures, had been on the back burner until 2017, when SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson came on board and indicated that all SUNY police departments should be accredited.

“Being accredited ensures that all of our policies and procedures fall in line with DCJS standards,” Pelletier said.

“I’m proud that our department put it all together and did a great job,” he added. “Not just the people who were directly involved but the entire department really came together in a joint effort. Everybody had a piece and came on board with the standards. We were doing a lot of it already; we just weren’t accredited.”

SUNY Cortland Police Chief Mark DePaull made a one-day visit to Binghamton in April 2019, to explain what Binghamton needed to do to complete the accreditation process.

The department then submitted 10 of its policies to a review team before a site visit could be scheduled. Ten different policies were sent directly to DCJS for review as well.

The three-person review team, comprised of a retired police chief from Monroe Community College, a lieutenant from SUNY Alfred and a retired sergeant from the Geddes Police Department, made a site visit to Binghamton in September, meeting with Pelletier, the deputy chiefs and lieutenants and a number of officers. In all, the team interviewed 16 sworn officers and two civilians, and conducted 113 interviews and 21 observations to verify compliance with the 98 standards upheld by DCJS.

“We were good for the critical standards,” Pelletier said. “There were a few minor things we can do a bit better.” During the visit, the main assessors came in and sat down for a couple of hours and went through the minor things to make some easy changes on the spot.

“It was three days of them going through our paperwork,” he added. “Officer [Bryan] Chaffee was our hero. He had been at SUNY Cortland when they went through the process and he put together our policies and set the whole thing up.”

“We felt we were ready, but you never know with this type of thing,” Pelletier said. “The review was very thorough and they gave us a good look and had some suggestions. One of our reviewers is known for being rigorous and wrote a lot of the standards himself.”

Following the site visit, the team recommended a favorable accreditation, Pelletier said. “We went to Albany on Dec. 5 to meet with the DCJS Accreditation Council. We were the only department there that was newly accredited. We have to be reaccredited every five years. They’ll use our general orders as proof, along with reports and interviews with officers, for the next review in five years.”

And, not only did the department receive accreditation, but it also won the Commissioner’s Cup for No Shave November, raising $5,770 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and for colon and prostate cancer, Pelletier said. UPD also raised $482 in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.