Department of Public Safety

(From left to right) Kent State University Police Sgt. Anne Spahr and Salem, a black Labrador retriever, walk with Kent State Police Officer Miguel Witt and Fredy, a Czechoslovakian shepherd, along the Lefton Esplanade on the Kent Campus.

Learn more about the Kent State University K-9s, past and present, and how they help keep the university safe.

Photo of the members of the Kent State Police Department

The Kent State University Police Department was recently awarded national accreditation for the ninth time by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. in the Law Enforcement program. The Kent State Police Department was first accredited in 1991.

Photo of the members of the Kent State Police Department

The Kent State University Police Department is scheduled for a virtual assessment as part of a program to achieve international reaccreditation. Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA), the program requires agencies to meet state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations and support services.

Patrick Tomaswick meets with one of his heroes, Kent State Police Officer Joe Knotek

Patrick Tomaswick wants to be a police officer, but not just any member of law enforcement. He wants to be a Kent State University police officer.

Dean Tondiglia (right), Kent State University police chief and director of public safety, goes through the PulsePoint Respond app on his phone while Kent Fire Chief John Tosko (left) looks on with an automated external defibrillator (AED) in front of him.

Sudden cardiac arrest, when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, is the leading cause of natural death in the United States. To help people survive from sudden cardiac arrest, the city of Kent has partnered with Kent State University and University Hospitals Portage Medical Center to offer PulsePoint Respond.