WENHAM — Chief Kevin DiNapoli is pleased to announce that assessors from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC) will conduct an examination of the Wenham Police Department’s policies and procedures, operations and facilities.
Verification by the Assessment Team that the Department meets MPAC standards is part of the process to gain or maintain state accreditation — a voluntary self-initiated evaluation process by which police departments strive to meet and maintain standards that have been established for the profession, by the profession.
These carefully selected standards reflect critical areas of police management, operations, and technical support activities. They cover areas such as policy development, emergency response planning, training, communications, property and evidence handling, use of force, vehicular pursuit, prisoner transportation, and holding facilities. The program not only sets standards for the law enforcement profession but also for the delivery of police services to citizens of the Commonwealth.
The MPAC team will conduct the on-site assessment beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
The Commission offers two program awards: Certification and Accreditation, with Accreditation being the higher of the two.
The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program consists of 257 mandatory standards as well as 125 optional standards. To achieve accreditation status, the Arlington Police must meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as 55 percent of the optional standards.
The Wenham Police Department became a Certified agency in 2013 and then gained full Accreditation status in 2014. If achieved, the re-accreditation award will be granted for a period of three years.