PRESS RELEASE

Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission

110 Haverhill Road

Amesbury , MA 01913

Commission Chair: Chief Brian J. Pattullo, Andover Police Department

 Upton Police Department is Awarded “Accreditation” Status

On January 26, 2012, the Upton Police Department was 44 th in the state to receive state accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission.

Accreditation is a self-initiated evaluation process by which police departments strive to meet and maintain standards that have been established for the profession, by the profession. These carefully selected standards reflect critical areas of police management, operations, and technical support activities. They cover areas such as policy development, emergency response planning, training, communications, property and evidence handling, use of force, vehicular pursuit, prisoner transportation and holding facilities. The program not only sets standards for the law enforcement profession, but also for the delivery of police services to citizens of the commonwealth.

“Achieving Accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission is a very significant accomplishment and a recognition highly regarded by the law enforcement community,” said Donna Taylor Mooers, the Commission’s Executive Director.”

Under the leadership of Chief Michael J. Bradley, Jr., the Upton Police Department was assessed in November by a team of Commission-appointed assessors. The Assessment Team found the Department to be in compliance with all applicable standards for Accreditation.

“Going through the process initially requires intense self-scrutiny, and ultimately provides a quality assurance review of the agency,” said Mooers. To conduct the initial self-assessment and prepare for the on-site review of the 326 standards by the Commission, Chief Bradley served as the Department’s Accreditation Manager.

The Commission offers two program awards: Certification and Accreditation, with Accreditation being the higher of the two. Accreditation has been granted for a period of three years. Participation in the program is strictly voluntary.

COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission consists of an eleven member Board of Directors. Six members are appointed by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, two by the Coalition of Accreditation Managers of Massachusetts, one by the Massachusetts Municipal Association and one by the Massachusetts Police Association. The eleventh member is left for the Board to elect; that member must be affiliated with an academic institution. According to Mooers, “the Commission’s primary role is to establish and administer both the standards and the assessment process by which departments meeting accreditation standards can be publicly recognized for their achievements.”

Massachusetts is one of twenty-four states that offer an accreditation process for its police departments.

BENEFITS OF ACCREDITATION

The standards for accreditation impact officer and public safety, address high liability/risk management issues, and generally promote operational efficiency throughout the agency. The benefits are therefore many and will vary among participating departments based on the state of the department when it enters the process. In other words, the benefits will be better known when the department quantifies the changes that it made as a direct result of achieving accreditation. Generally, these changes involve policy writing, facility improvements and equipment purchases. Listed below are some of the more common benefits.

Accreditation:

Mooers added, “ Police Certification and Accreditation serve to reassure the general public that the law enforcement profession is trained, prepared and ready to handle routine calls for service including large scale emergencies. Agency preparedness begins with having a current written directive system that incorporates best practices into agency policies and operational plans.”

Press Release

Youth Recreation Night(s) January 2012

The Upton Police Department in partnership with the Upton Recreation Commission is excited to offer open recreation nights in January for local youths.

In its fourth year, this program will allow for recreation in Blackstone Valley Regional Technical High School's two gymnasiums and cafeteria on the following Saturday nights from 6:00PM – 9:00PM:

January 7, 2012

January 14, 2012

January 21, 2012

January 28, 2012

The program is designed for youth ages 8-15 to have the opportunity to enjoy indoor recreation such as basketball, floor hockey and dodge ball in a safe and fun environment.

There is no fee for this program and pre-registration is not required. Parents are required to sign an injury waiver form for use of the school. Injury waiver forms will be available at the door or can be down loaded from www.uptonpolice.org.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer with this program please contact Chief Michael J. Bradley @ Michael.bradley@uptonpolice.org , or Officer Carl Ambrosino @ cambrosino@uptonpolice.org.

Welcome to the Upton Police Department's official web site. On behalf of the Upton Police Department, I would like to thank you for visiting this site. I hope that this site will assist the community with easy access to services, forms, questions, press releases, and questions pertaining to the Upton Police Department. Please take a moment to explore the web site and many online services, information, and links to better serve you.

I encourage you to make comments, suggestions, or questions through this web site or contact me directly at michael.bradley@uptonpolice.org.

I do hope that you find our web site useful and informative. We will update this site as frequently as possible with events and important information regarding the department. So please visit this site often.

Regards,
Michael J. Bradley, Jr.
Chief of Police