Freetown Police Department Re-Accreditation
On February 15, 2023, the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC) recognized and awarded full accreditation to the Freetown Police Department. This is the fourth time that the department earned the honor. Chief Carlton Abbott, Sergeant Scott Rose, and Freetown Selectman Carlos Lopes attended the awards banquet.
Under the leadership of Chief Abbott, the Freetown Police Department has been involved in the accreditation process since 2007, when the department received its first achievement award of certification. The department’s continued to strive for excellence resulted in the achievement of full accreditation awards during 2014, 2017 and 2020. Throughout the process, the department demonstrated its continued commitment to the “best police practices” as set forth by MPAC.
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.
The department was assessed in November by a team of MPAC appointed assessors. The assessment team found the Department to be in compliance with all applicable standards for re-accreditation.
The MPAC Accreditation Program consists of 257 mandatory standards as well as 125 optional standards. In order to achieve accreditation status, the department was required to meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as 60% of the optional standards.
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.
Accreditation must be earned every three years.