MARION — Chief Richard Nighelli is pleased to announce that the Marion Police Department has been fully re-accredited by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC).
The MPAC awarded full accreditation status to the department once again on March 31. The usual in-person accreditation ceremony has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are honored to have received full accreditation once again,” Chief Nighelli said. “Earning this notable designation for a third time shows our department’s continued commitment to self-evaluation and improvement and demonstrates our dedication to the highest standards of policing. The Accreditation process is a team effort and is a testament to the hard work the men and women of this department put in everyday to provide the best possible services to our community.”
The department received State Certification in June 2014, full State Accreditation in June 2015 and re-accreditation in 2018. Accreditation must be renewed every three years and, following this year’s renewal, the department will be up for re-accreditation again in 2024.
Accreditation is a self-initiated, lengthy and comprehensive evaluation process. Participating departments complete an internal self-review and an external assessment by MPAC experts. The process is a voluntary 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.
The department was assessed in December 2020 by a team of commission-appointed assessors. The Assessment Team found the department to be in compliance with all applicable standards for re-accreditation.
The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program consists of 257 mandatory standards as well as 125 optional standards. In order to achieve accreditation status, the department was required to meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as 55% of the optional standards.
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 Commission offers two program awards: certification and accreditation, with the latter being the higher of the two.
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