KINGSTON, R.I. – Sept. 30, 2025 – The University of Rhode Island Police Department’s four-year goal to become an accredited law enforcement agency in Rhode Island was realized last week when the department received its accreditation from the Rhode Island Police Accreditation Commission (RIPAC) in a ceremony held at Harbor Lights in Warwick. It is the first time that the University’s law enforcement department has received accreditation.

The RIPAC accreditation builds on the University’s reputation and push to have one of the safest campuses in the country. In 2018, URI was ranked the fourth-safest campus in the United States by Campus Safety magazine.

Led by URI Assistant Vice President of Public Safety and Chief of Police Michael Jagoda, Deputy Police Chief Paul Ricci, URI Police Sgt. Ariel Vega and Executive Assistant Christin Readey, the department’s accreditation process began in 2021 shortly after Jagoda became the University’s chief of police. The department conducted extensive reviews of its policies and procedures to both help improve overall operations and to provide essential services to keep the University community safe every day.

“Accreditation is the gold standard for making sure we’re providing superior services to our community,” said Chief Jagoda. “We’re making sure our policies and procedures are constitutional, they’re fair and nondiscriminatory, that our training is superior that our officers are confident in their skillset and they’re going out there in partnership with the community.”

Deputy Chief Ricci noted part of that procedure review included having all University officers wear body-worn cameras on their uniforms. Those cameras were acquired through a five-year $288,750 grant URI Police received in 2022 as part of a $16.1 million statewide program helping equip Rhode Island law enforcement agencies with body-worn cameras.

Police departments receiving accreditation are recognized as those maintaining the highest standards of professionalism within law enforcement. This time-proven management model provides agencies the means to systematically conduct internal reviews and assessments of their respective policies and procedures. Accredited departments also conduct in-depth reviews of every aspect of the agency’s organization, management and operations.

RIPAC’s accreditation program is a department-initiated process where police departments in Rhode Island voluntarily strive to meet and maintain established standards in the law enforcement profession. The program contains 217 standards for police departments to meet across six areas: roles, responsibilities, and relationships with other agencies; organization, management, and administration; personnel administration; law enforcement operations, traffic, and support; prisoner and court-related services; and auxiliary and technical services.

Participation in the program is a signal to Rhode Island communities that their law enforcement agencies are committed to professional standards, willing to be assessed by an accreditation commission, and will correct any deficiencies to re-establish compliance with the standards.

“Public safety depends on public trust, and building and maintaining trust with the community is heavily dependent on transparency and accountability. Accreditation is designed to help agencies demonstrate—to themselves and the public—their desire to learn and continuously improve,” RIPAC Executive Director Christine Crocker said. “We recognize the University of Rhode Island Police Department for achieving its initial award this year, and also the other agencies that have achieved reaccreditation.”

“We practice and believe in community policing. I feel like our community members trust us and we have a good working relationship with them because of that philosophy,” said Chief Jagoda. “This accreditation not only recognizes that, but it reinforces our officers’ confidence that they have the skillset and ability to make decisions and work within the community to solve quality-of-life issues.”  

The department also thanked Abby Benson, the University’s Vice President of Administration and Finance, for her pivotal role in helping the agency achieve its accreditation from RIPAC.