Police Chief Richard B. Nighelli is pleased to announce that assessors from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC) will conduct an on-site, multiday assessment of various aspects of the Marion Police Department’s policies and procedures, operations and facilities next month.
The MPAC Assessment Team is scheduled to conduct the on-site assessment from Feb. 27-29.
Verification by the Assessment Team that the department meets MPAC standards is part of a voluntary process to maintain State Accreditation — a self-initiated evaluation process by which police departments strive to meet and uphold standards that have been established for the profession, by the profession.
The Commission offers two program awards: Certification and Accreditation, with Accreditation being the higher of the two. Achieving Accreditation is a high recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.
The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program consists of 274 mandatory standards and 120 optional standards. To achieve Accreditation status, the department must meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as 55% of the optional standards.
Marion Police received State Certification in June 2014 and full State Accreditation in June 2015. Accreditation is up for renewal every three years, and the department was successfully re-accredited in 2018 and again in 2021.
Anyone interested in learning more about this program is invited to contact the department’s Accreditation Manager, Lt. Jeffrey Habicht, at 508-748-1212. Information about the program can also be found on the MPAC website.