Accreditation and Certification
CPD Earns Re-Accreditation from MPAC
Police Chief Colin Spence is proud to report that the Chelmsford Police Department earned re-accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC). On Wednesday, Feb. 7, MPAC re-accredited the Chelmsford Police Department. The department was first accredited in 2012, and must renew its accreditation once every 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.
Chelmsford Police were assessed by MPAC on 256 mandatory standards and 120 optional standards and met all mandatory standards and 79 of the optional standards. MPAC Assessors visited the Chelmsford Police Department from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 to conduct their assessment.
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.
“We are proud to have earned re-accreditation from MPAC, which shows that the Chelmsford Police Department continues to meet the highest standards in law enforcement in Massachusetts,” said Chief Spence. “I would like to thank all police department employees for their constant support of our department’s important initiatives. I also want to thank Lt. Jason Hanscom and Administrative Assistant Melissa Nolan for leading our efforts to earn reaccreditation.”
The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program offers an accreditation process for police agencies across the Commonwealth. Like other accreditation programs, the process consists of two major components: (1) the establishment of a body of professional standards for police agencies to meet, and (2) a voluntary assessment process by which agencies can be publicly recognized for meeting those standards considered best practices for the profession.