ARLINGTON — Chief Julie Flaherty is proud to share that the Arlington Police Department earned re-accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC).
The Arlington Police Department became a certified agency in March of 2008 and then gained full accreditation status in September of 2014. Re-accreditation has now been granted for a period of three years.
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 on May 9 by a team of commission-appointed assessors. The Arlington Police Department’s efforts to earn re-accreditation were led by Accreditation Manager Capt. Brendan Kiernan, with assistance from Sgt. Jim Kiernan and Lt. Mike Flynn.
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 percent 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.
To learn more about MPAC, visit: https://masspoliceaccred.net/.
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