The University of Toledo Police Department is among the first law enforcement agencies in the state to participate in Ohio’s new voluntary law enforcement accreditation program.
Established by an executive order signed by Gov. Mike DeWine last week, the Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Accreditation Program will certify law enforcement agencies that implement nearly three dozen standards of professional excellence.
The UToledo Police Department was one of ten agencies selected for the initial program rollout.
“We are proud to be among the first departments in the state working toward this accreditation,” said Rodney Theis, associate vice president of public safety and chief of the UToledo Police Department. “It’s a very select group, and it really shows our law enforcement agency is doing the most we can to demonstrate transparency, follow best practices and adopt policies to ensure we’re providing a positive service to our community.”
Theis said UTPD volunteered to be part of the program launch and was selected following a series of interviews, joining nine other agencies including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the Dayton Police Department.
Theis and other representatives from UToledo attended a signing ceremony for the executive order on Thursday, March 21.
The Ohio Collaborative Law Enforcement Accreditation Program lays out 31 standards departments must meet or exceed, including bias-free policing, crisis intervention, use of force and vehicular pursuit policies, agency wellness, community engagement and hiring standards.
“You can’t put a price on professionalism in public service,” DeWine said. “Every citizen in Ohio deserves to live in a community where its police force is guided by the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and excellence. Accreditation instills public trust and confidence in policing practices, and by offering this new program for free, we’re making accreditation attainable for all agencies no matter how big or small.”
UToledo will go through its evaluation in the coming months with a goal of being accredited under the new program by the end of the year.
As part of the pilot program, UToledo Police also will have the opportunity to provide feedback before the program eventually rolls out to the more than 900 law enforcement agencies within the state of Ohio.
