About Us
Message from the Chief
The Towson University Police Department employs state-certified police officers who serve and protect the campus community. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life on campus by building relationships, acting with integrity and fairness and working collaboratively within our diverse community. We handle all police and criminal matters on the university main campus, and work diligently to reduce crime, enforce laws, preserve peace and provide for a safe environment.
Accreditation
We have a unique distinction of being accredited by both the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Agencies (IACLEA). The accreditation process is rigorous and signifies compliance with state-of-the-art industry standards. Less than one percent of law enforcement agencies have both accreditations.
Public Feedback to Accrediting Agencies
The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA) maintains an access portal which allows for comment and feedback with regard to candidate agencies seeking initial accreditation or reaccreditation status.
The purpose of this public portal is to receive comments regarding an agency's compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide the participating agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence.
IMPORTANT: CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes. Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgement to submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA® Accreditation.
Please use this link in order to leave an accreditation-related commendation or concern for the Towson University Police Department: Accreditation Public Comment Portal.
Awards
The TU community consistently has one of the lowest number of part I crimes at all residential campuses in the University System of Maryland. In addition to our dual accreditation, we have received the Governor’s Award for Crime Prevention for more than 30 consecutive years, as well as awards for traffic and pedestrian safety programs from the Maryland Highway Safety Office.
Commitment to Transparency
We are committed to transparency, safety and continuous improvement. Officers are expected to conduct themselves professionally and courteously in all encounters with the public, allied agencies and campus departments. I encourage the community to submit feedback and complaints directly to me through our confidential feedback form.
The feedback allows us to address community concerns and comply with TU’s values. Depending on the nature of the feedback, we conduct an investigation. We publish an annual report of information on all internal affairs complaints and investigations.
Charles Herring
Associate Vice President for Public Safety
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