Acton PD Earns Full Accreditation

ACTON, MA — The Acton Police Department officially earned full accreditation status from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. The department earned its state certification in September 2019, and has been working towards full accreditation since then. The full accreditation was awarded on Jan. 20.

“I am tremendously proud of our department and our accreditation team for rising to meet the standards outlined by the MPAC,” Acton Police Chief Richard Burrows said. “Earning accreditation is a testament to the commitment our department has made to provide our community with the highest quality police service we can offer.”

To earn accreditation, departments must 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's considered the best measure for a police department to compare itself against the established best practices around the country and region.

The MPAC program requires that departments meet all 257 of their mandatory standards and 60 percent of the 125 optional requirements.

The 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
• Training
• Traffic
• Drug Enforcement
• Victim/Witness Assistance