Wellesley PD Awarded Full Accreditation Status

Photo Credit: Wellesley Police Department

On Oct. 2, 2014 the Wellesley Police Department was awarded full Accreditation status by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. The Wellesley Police Department is one of only 40 municipal police agencies in the Commonwealth to achieve this prestigious status.

Achieving full Accreditation requires the department to meet 257 mandatory standards and a minimum of 69 optional standards that represent the best practices in law enforcement operations and administration. The Accreditation process is not a one time achievement, but is a continual process requiring the department to self-evaluate and update policies and procedures on a continuous basis to ensure the best practices in the profession are met as the department grows. An on-site, independent assessment is required every three years to maintain Accreditation status.

Sergeant Scott Showstead served as the Accreditation manager, and worked with Officer Janet Popovski to develop, implement, and update many of the required policies needed to achieve full status. The entire Accreditation process has enhanced training and the level of professionalism among the WPD staff.

Achieving full Accreditation has been a long term vision of Wellesley Police Chief Terrence Cunningham, and one of his major priorities for the department. Chief Cunningham believes that Accreditation increases citizen awareness and staff confidence in the goals, objectives, policies, and procedures of our department. It also serves to enhance and improve cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies as well as the other components of the criminal justice system. Accreditation has enabled the Wellesley Police Department to increase its own capabilities to investigate, locate, and arrest criminals, while controlling crime within the community.

Article/press release as published on the Wellesley Police Department’s website