NAUPD

Accreditation

The Northern Arizona University Police Department (NAUPD) has been an accredited agency since March of 1995 when we obtained international accreditation as a law enforcement agency through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). NAUPD became the sixth police department in Arizona and the ninth university police department in the United States to receive CALEA recognition for meeting their rigorous standards. Since 1995, NAUPD was re-accredited 9 times through CALEA to include “Gold Standard” and “Flagship Agency” designations. In 2025 the department made the decision to move our accreditation efforts to the Arizona Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ALEAP).

In February 2024, the Northern Arizona University Police Department (NAUPD) earned its initial accreditation through ALEAP. This recognition reflects NAUPD’s commitment to excellence and adherence to ALEAP’s comprehensive standards, which emphasize professionalism, accountability, and operational integrity.

ALEAP is a statewide initiative designed to enhance the quality and consistency of policing across Arizona. The program establishes a comprehensive framework of standards that promote ethical conduct, operational efficiency, and community-focused service. These standards represent current industry best practices and are intended to ensure the safe, effective, and equitable delivery of law enforcement services.

What accreditation means to us:

By holding ourselves to this higher standard of excellence, we hope to always provide a level of law enforcement service that exceeds the expectations of our community. In the accreditation process, our agency is scrutinized at every level by ALEAP officials. Everything from how we complete our paperwork, how we conduct field operations to how we phrase our directives is examined. This is a repeating process that demands that we live these standards day to day.

What accreditation means to you:

By having a police department that has voluntarily chosen to seek this higher standard, the community can expect and receive a consistently better level of service and accountability. Our officers are fully aware of the organization’s dedication to accreditation, and that commitment should carry over to the way they handle each call for service. Through accreditation, it is our goal to provide the NAU community the best possible police service with highly trained and community oriented personnel.

If you have further questions, or comments about accreditation, please e-mail: Michael.Navarro@nau.edu