Mark D. Segalla, Chief of Police
15 Union St.
Reading, MA 01867
For Immediate Release
Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Reading Police Department Awarded Full State Re-Accreditation
READING — Chief Mark D. Segalla is pleased to announce that the Reading Police Department earned its re-accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC) yesterday.
The department received its award at a ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at the Connors Center in Dover.
“Achieving re-accreditation once again proves that the Reading Police Department is in line with the highest standards of policing,” Chief Segalla said. “Thanks to the hard work of everyone in our department, especially our accreditation team, which helped us earn this prestigious level of recognition for a second time.”
The accreditation process is long and vigorous. It involves both an internal self-review and an external assessment by the commission’s team of experts. The process is a self-initiated evaluation by which police departments strive to meet and maintain the top standards of law enforcement. It is considered the best measure for a police department to compare itself against the established best practices around the country and region.
Under the leadership of Chief Segalla, the Reading Police Department was assessed earlier this year by a team of commission-appointed assessors. The Assessment Team found the department to be in compliance with all applicable standards for accreditation.
To conduct the initial self-assessment and prepare for the on-site review of the 246 mandatory standards and 83 optional standards by the Commission, Chief Segalla appointed Lt. Detective Richard P. Abate, Sgt. Christine Amendola and Sgt. Kevin Brown to serve as the department’s Accreditation Managers.
This is the second time the Reading Police Department received its accreditation through MPAC. They first earned the accolade in 2013.
The MPAC program requires that departments meet all the mandatory standards and percentage of the optional requirements. These carefully selected measures 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.
The commission offers two program awards: certification and accreditation, with accreditation the higher of the two. Accreditation is granted for a period of three years. Participation in the program is strictly voluntary.
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