Chief Thomas Perkins is pleased to announce that the Wenham Police Department will begin the process of attaining full accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC).
A team of assessors from MPAC is scheduled to begin examining various aspects of the Wenham Police Department’s policies, procedures, operations and facilities on October 17-19.
Verification by the assessment team that the department meets the Commission’s standards is part of a voluntary process to re-gain state accreditation – a self-initiated evaluation process by which police departments strive to meet and maintain standards that have been established for the profession, by the profession.
The MPAC program includes 257 mandatory police department standards and 125 optional standards. In order to achieve accreditation, a department must meet all required standards and at least 55 percent of the optional ones. Reviewed standards include: Jurisdiction and Mutual Aid, Collection and Preservation of Evidence, Communications, Working Conditions, Crime Analysis, Community Involvement, Financial Management, Internal Affairs, Juvenile Operations, Patrol, Administration, Public Information, Records, Traffic, Training, Drug Enforcement and Victim/Witness Assistance.
Achieving full accredited status is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence. Anyone interested in learning more about the accreditation program is invited to call Chief Thomas Perkins or the department’s Accreditation Manager Capt. Kevin DiNapoli. Individuals interested in submitting written comments or questions to the Commission should do so no later than one week prior to the first day of the assessment. The Commission can be contacted at 110 Haverhill Road – Suite 397, Amesbury, MA 01913.