Brookline Police Department Earns Re-Accreditation Certificate

BROOKLINE, MA — The Brookline Police Department has earned a Certificate of Re-Accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC).

Brookline Police were awarded the Certificate of Re-Accreditation at a ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The Brookline Police Department has been an accredited agency since 2013. The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program offers two professional credentialing programs: Certification and Accreditation.

Accreditation is the higher of the two awards, consisting of 257 mandatory standards agencies must meet, as well as 125 optional standards. The department met all of the required mandatory standards and 74 percent of the optional standards.

The accreditation process consists of two components: The establishment of a body of professional standards for police agencies to meet and a voluntary assessment process by which agencies can be publicly recognized for meeting those standards considered best practices for the profession.

These components are aimed at providing accountability among agency personnel and ensuring policies are applied evenhandedly, providing a statewide norm against which agencies can judge their performance, providing a basis to correct deficiencies before they become public problems, providing independent evaluation of agency operations, enhancing the reputation of an agency, increasing public confidence, and and minimizing insurance costs and agency liability.

Accreditation also ensures the Brookline Police Department is prepared to meet the expectations of the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission (POST) and the requirements it created as part of the state’s police reform law.

“I would like to thank MPAC for awarding our department Re-Accreditation and I am proud of all the men and women on our team for their unwavering commitment to professionalism in serving Brookline,” Chief Jennifer Paster said in a statement. “This achievement is an affirmation of our department's commitment to upholding the best policing practices.”