Written by Dave Fidlin | Photos by Craig Schreiner

After an intensive three-year review process, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Police Department received accreditation from a national program considered the gold standard within the profession.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, or CALEA, has officially recognized the UW-Whitewater Police Department with its accreditation. It is one of only four departments in Wisconsin to hold the accreditation, and one of just two within the Universities of Wisconsin — the other being UW-Madison.

While law enforcement agencies have a number of different accreditation options available, UW-Whitewater Police Chief Matt Kiederlen said CALEA is considered the gold standard because of the depths involved in achieving such a certification, which included putting the campus’ law enforcement officers through a battery of tests to ensure policies and procedures are being followed.

Kiederlen said the quest for CALEA accreditation has been years in the making and that credit goes to the department’s small but dedicated command staff who roll up their sleeves each day to ensure UW-Whitewater’s campus is safe, secure and a welcoming place for people from all backgrounds to grow personally and academically.

“Accreditation, in my opinion, sets the department up for success,” Kiederlen said. “It gives us a nationally recognized set of standards that we can comply with and we will strive to uphold. It’s a way for us to test what we’re doing against what is considered the gold standards are, in terms of how you do things. It sets me — or any chief or executive, however you want to look at it — up for success.”

In the world of academia, Kiederlen said accreditation is a concept that is easily understood. The processes and standards the UW-Whitewater Police Department went through are similar to those a college or university undergoes for its academic programs.

“In a higher education environment, every college, everything that is done from setting up the classes to teaching, are evaluated by an outside organization that says, ‘You’re doing this right.’” Kiederlen said. “It’s the same thing for us.”

“The intensive nature of CALEA’s accreditation process is one reason it is considered such a high-caliber standard within law enforcement.

CALEA’s 21-member Board of Commissioners tests command staff on the policies and procedures on the agency’s books and conducts interviews with a sampling of university staff and students, as well as community members, to gauge the department’s effectiveness. Input from other nearby law enforcement agencies also is a part of the review process.

“Each community with CALEA-accredited agencies should feel confident that their public safety organization is going above and beyond and operating under the highest standards in public safety,” CALEA President Marlon Lynch said.

Kiederlen considers achieving the CALEA accreditation to be a professional milestone.

“This is a career goal, and the fact that we achieved this is outstanding,” Kiederlen said. “For me, as the chief, I take a huge amount of pride that we have achieved this, knowing that this little department of 16 sworn officers has put itself in a place where it can deliver the best quality of service that we possibly can.”

“Achieving the accreditation is a worthy moment of celebration for the members of the UW-Whitewater Police Department, but the process of maintaining the designation will be continuous.

“It’s not just, ‘Once, and you’re done.’ They’re looking at those policies, and they’re looking for what are called ‘proofs,’” Kiederlen said. “They want to know that we are abiding by those policies. It’s a complete upgrade. It literally affects the daily processes of the department to ensure that you’re doing it as best as you possibly can.”

Kiederlen said he takes pride in knowing the police department has a strong foundation, heading into the future.

“I wanted to set up the department for continued success.”