 "Photo: Mary Kang/The Daily Texan")
The Austin Community College Police Department is one of 19 state law enforcement agencies and the only community college in Texas to receive “Recognized Status” from the Texas Police Chiefs Association Foundation recognition program.
Police departments voluntarily enter themselves into an internal review process conducted by program officials, said program coordinator Marlin Price. Departments must meet 161 standards, ranging from Taser usage training to properly securing evidence rooms. ACC entered the program last August.
“It’s a pretty prestigious award at this point,” Price said. “The program is very similar to the national accreditation program but is directed specifically at police departments in Texas using Texas law and practices.”
This is the first time the police department has earned an accreditation.
“I think the recognition shows a commitment to excellence and service to all things that we do,” said ACC Police Chief Frankie Waller. “It’s a commitment to professional accountability.”
There are 40,000 students enrolled at ACC this semester, and the police department deals with many common crimes that occur at other college campuses, Waller said.
“The major crimes are similar to a lot of campuses and include things like vehicle burglaries,” he said. “One thing that’s different is that we don’t have fraternities and sororities, so we don’t have near the level of crime [as larger universities].
Other law-enforcement offices, such as the UT Police Department, are accredited by national agencies such as the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. UTPD has no plans to apply for the accreditation from the Texas Police Chiefs Association, though the UT Health Science Center and the UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are
both recognized.
“When an agency achieves this status, it reassures the citizens of a city and the administration and students at a college that their police department is doing everything the right way,” Price said. “It involves the whole department and requires training in areas that maybe they haven’t had training in before.”
The program also provides police departments with parameters and guidelines for interdepartmental affairs, including suggestions for a more efficient way for citizens to file complaints against the department.
ACC student Lauren Einck is studying to become a dental hygienist and has taken classes at various campuses for two years.
“I think a police department should provide an overall feeling of safety and security at a college campus, which I think the ACC police officers do,” Einck said.
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