From left: Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission Treasurer and Upton Police Chief Michael Bradley, Bridgewater Town Manager Michael Dutton, Capt. Carl MacDermott, Chief Christopher Delmonte, Officer Matthew MacFadzen, Lt. Anne Schuster, and Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission Secretary and Orleans Police Chief Scott MacDonald. (Photo courtesy Bridgewater Police Department) 
BRIDGEWATER — Chief Christopher D. Delmonte is pleased to announce that the Bridgewater Police Department has been fully re-accredited by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC).
The MPAC voted to award full accreditation status to the department once again in October. An awards ceremony recognizing departments who achieved the status was held on Oct. 26 at the Marlborough Country Club.
“We are proud to have earned full accreditation status once again,” Chief Delmonte said. “This is an important department-wide achievement that demonstrates our continued commitment to the highest law enforcement standards and service.”
This is the third time the Bridgewater Police Department has earned accreditation status. The department was first awarded full accreditation in 2016, and was re-accredited in 2019. The department had also previously received MPAC Certification in 2015.
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 June 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 60% of the optional standards.
These carefully selected standards reflect critical areas of police management, operations and technical support activities. They cover areas such as 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, Training, Traffic, Drug Enforcement and Victim/Witness Assistance.
Accreditation must be renewed every three years and, following this year’s renewal, the Bridgewater Police Department will be up for re-accreditation again in October 2025.
The Commission offers two program awards: certification and accreditation, with the latter being the higher of the two.
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