Police Accreditation

The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program consists of 257 mandatory standards as well as 125 optional standards. In order to achieve accreditation status, the Department must meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as 55% of the optional standards. Achieving Accreditation is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence and the program provides the following benefits:

• Provides a norm for the Upton Police Department to judge its performance.
• Provides a basis to correct deficiencies before they become public problems.
• Provides accountability among agency personnel.
• Provides a means of independent evaluation of agency operations for quality assurance.
• Enhances the reputation of the agency and promotes public confidence in it.
• Reduces liability exposure by following best practices for the delivery of services and supervision of personnel.

Upton Police Department Is Awarded "Accreditation" Status

On May 5, 2016, the Upton Police Department received state accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. This is the department's 2nd consecutive accreditation award. Our residents can have confidence knowing that our department is held to the highest of standards.

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.