There are more than 300 law enforcement agencies in the State of Arkansas.
Only 16 have earned tier one Arkansas Law Enforcement Accreditation Program status through the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police.
As of this fall, one of those 16 agencies is the Arkansas Tech University Department of Public Safety.
“We’re very proud of our public safety department and officers,” said Dr. Keegan Nichols, ATU vice president for student affairs. “The amount of work and time they put into this was tremendous. We always knew they were fantastic, but this is proof of that fact.”
Jackie Davis from the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police said the accreditation review process for the ATU Department of Public Safety began in May with a review of 170 standards. A team of three evaluators with more than 90 years of law enforcement experience conducted on-site and digital reviews.
“I must say that we were very impressed with (the ATU Department of Public Safety) and its professionalism,” said Davis. “Your agency is the second university to receive the tier one accreditation in the state, so please be proud.”
Joshua McMillian, chief of the ATU Department of Public Safety, expressed appreciation to Nichols and Amy Pennington, ATU associate vice president for student affairs, dean of students and Title IX coordinator, for their assistance in gaining the accreditation.
“Without their support, continued guidance and leadership for our area, we couldn’t have gone through the accreditation process, which was quite involved,” said McMillian. “They supported us through this entire process and helped us get this accomplished.
“Our department, over the last several years, has sought to become an accredited law enforcement agency through the State of Arkansas as well as the nation,” continued McMillian. “It was a huge process for us to receive this award. Through accreditation, one of the side notes is it means you are in compliance with all the laws of Arkansas.”
Learn more about the ATU Department of Public Safety at www.atu.edu/psafe.
