CCRI Police Achieve Statewide Accreditation

  • By Matt Jones
  • June 28, 2021

The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), located in Warwick, R.I., has announced that its campus police department has achieved full state accreditation for the first time ever from the Rhode Island Police Accreditation Commission (RIPAC). The two major components of the accreditation process are establishing a set of professional standards for agencies to meet, and a voluntary assessment process by which agencies can be held accountable and recognized publicly for meeting them.

The RIPAC has laid out 216 accreditation standards, 166 of them applicable to a college or university police department. CCRI has demonstrated that its written policies and procedures adhere to these standards, as well as provided proof that its officers are following those policies and procedures in practice.

“The mission of our Campus Police is to protect and serve all those who learn, teach, and work at the college,” said Alix Ogden, Associate Vice President of Administration, the campus body that oversees the police. “This mission is grounded in a foundation of community service and treating all individuals with respect and fairness. Earning this accreditation is a symbol that our model of community policing works and is a testament to the leadership of Chief Sean Collins and the professionalism of all our Campus Police officers.”

This marks the first occasion that CCRI has applied and achieved accreditation. “I am so proud of our officers and staff for embracing the accreditation process and for measuring ourselves against the very best policies and practices,” said Chief Collins. “We strive to promote public confidence with our constituents by being fully transparent on how we operate, and I hope this accreditation gives the public the confidence knowing we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of professionalism in law enforcement.”

The accreditation will be celebrated at a ceremony at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 30, at the CCRI Knight Campus in Warwick, R.I. CCRI enrolls about 20,000 students in for-credit classes and an additional 8,500 in workforce development programs and adult education classes.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

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