Thomas Perkins, Chief of Police
1 Friend Court
PO Box 536
Wenham, MA 01984
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Wenham Police Seeking Full Accreditation by State Commission
Highest Level of Review Taking Place in August
WENHAM — Police Chief Thomas Perkins and Captain Jeffrey Tobey announce that a team of assessors from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, August 6, 2014 to begin examining various aspects of the Wenham Police Department’s policies and procedures, operations and facilities.
“Accreditation is the highest method of verification that the Wenham Police Department is in line with the best practices of law enforcement in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the country as a whole,” Chief Perkins said. “I am extremely proud that the Wenham Police Department has set its sights high, as we seek to provide the best quality of services to our community.”
The Assessment is a voluntary process to 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.
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 Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program consists of 257 mandatory standards as well as 125 optional standards. In order to achieve Accreditation status, the Department must meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as 60 percent of the optional standards.
The Commission offers two program awards: Certification and Accreditation, with Accreditation being the higher of the two. The Wenham Police Department is currently a Certified agency. If awarded, the Accreditation is re-evaluated every three years.
Achieving Accreditation is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence. Anyone interested in learning more about this program is invited to contact the Department’s Accreditation Manager Captain Jeffrey Tobey.
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