6 Mass. police departments recognized by Accreditation Commission

On Jan. 13, five municipal police departments and one campus police department received awards from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission, an organization that administers a voluntary accreditation process for the Commonwealth’s law enforcement profession.

Accreditation awards were presented to the police departments in Amherst, Easton, North Reading and UMass-Amherst. Certification awards were presented to the police departments in Upton and Wareham.

The awards are considered to be among the best measures of a police department’s compliance with professional law enforcement standards.

Donna Taylor Mooers, the commission’s executive director, said the recognition “means that the department has agreed to adopt the commission’s standards as a way of doing business, and these standards are considered best practices for police departments, administratively and operationally.

“These carefully selected standards address critical areas such as policy development, use of force, training requirements, emergency response planning, records and communications, property and evidence handling, vehicular pursuits, and holding facilities.”

Mooers said the process begins with the department conducting a thorough “self-assessment” to determine compliance with program standards, which is then followed by an external peer review by commission-appointed assessors.

“Going through the process initially requires intense self-scrutiny, and ultimately provides a quality assurance review of the agency,” Mooers said.

Massachusetts is one of 25 states to offer an accreditation process for the police profession. According to the Accreditation Commission, 132 of the state’s police departments participate in its program.

The awards presented on Jan. 13 increase the number of accredited police departments in Massachusetts to 33 and the number of certified departments to 18.