Accreditation Maintenance System

Policy & Procedures                 No. 4.02
                                  Subject:
                  Accreditation Maintenance System
                                  Issuing Authority:                                       Effective Date:   Review Date:
                     Chief of Police                    09/01/2013  06/13/2023
                                                                                 References:

 Review
 Revision   09/06/2016
 Reissued   07/07/2018
 Dates:     02/09/2020

11.4.3  33.5.3 33.5.4

             GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDELINES

It is the policy of the Canton Police Department to meet and uphold the law enforcement
certification and accreditation standards that have been established by the Massachusetts Police
Accreditation Commission (MPAC).

These standards arise out of the national standards that are set forth by the Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). The standards reflect the best
professional practices in police management, administration, operations, and support services.

                    PURPOSE

This policy establishes an accreditation maintenance system for the Canton Police Department.
The accreditation maintenance system allows department personnel to monitor compliance and
provides an organized record of measures required of the Canton Police Department in order to
maintain its status in the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC).

This policy describes the Canton Police Department’s system for ensuring that periodic reports,
reviews, and other tasks mandated by the applicable standards are accomplished. 11.4.3

                   PROCEDURE        33.5.4

It is the duty of all department personnel to remain in compliance with applicable accreditation
standards.  It is the duty of the Accreditation Manager to monitor accreditation standard changes,
and notify all affected department personnel who may be impacted by those changes.

     a. The Accreditation Manager is responsible for:

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1.  Required to attend an MPAC accreditation training within twelve (12) months of
          appointment as Accreditation Manager;
        2.  Assessing and updating all policy reviews;
        3.  Updating the compliance schedules and/or databases;
        4.  Revising written directives, as needed;
        5.  Notifying department personnel of required reports, activities and documentation;
        6.  Ensuring that all personnel (sworn and civilian) are familiar with, and educated about
           the standards and process; and
        7.  Preparing personnel and accreditation files for MPAC program assessments.
        8.  Ensuring that all agency personnel assigned to the Accreditation Process receive
            training through a Commission-led training.

      There are several maintenance and review schedules used by the Accreditation Manager
        to track and document required activities. 11.4.3

          •  The primary documents are the Inspections charts and documents.

          •  These schedules will be maintained by the Accreditation Manager and updated as
              needed.

          •  The Accreditation Manager may also distribute emails, memos or shared calendar
              reminders to supervisors or others with identified areas of responsibility, alerting
            them to upcoming required reviews, reports, and training.

          •  The overall accreditation maintenance system may also include other calendars,
               timetables or lists, as needed.

The majority of required reports and reviews are clearly described in department policies. The
accreditation lists and policies typically serve as joint notifications. 11.4.3

   b.  Supervisors shall be familiar with any standards which apply to their areas of control and
        shall maintain their files accordingly.

          •  They should notify the Accreditation Manager if they are unable to complete
              scheduled tasks so the scheduling expectations can be jointly reviewed.

          •  When a supervisor has completed any quarterly, semi-annual, or annual tasks,
              they should inform the Accreditation Manager so that the policy and
               administrative files can be updated.

          •  Supervisors are responsible for maintaining documentation of their training,
              scheduled reports and reviews as defined in department policies.

                  Examples: Use of Force evaluations, equipment inventories associated
                    with areas of responsibility, etc.

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  This documentation will be filed in secure areas under their control, such
                        as; file cabinets, in order to ensure compliance with records security
                       protocols.

    c.  In addition to supervisors, other department personnel, as designated in schedules and
        policies, shall complete and document all reviews and reports under their areas of
        responsibility, as defined and listed in the compliance schedule, department policies and
       written directives.

       In order to remain organized for Accreditation and Certification Assessments,
       representative samples of review and report types maintained by those responsible may
      be requested by the Accreditation Manager. Such samples would be used for
        accreditation compliance review and file folder documentation. Generally, restricted and
        confidential information should not be included. These samples, and the compliance files
        folders, are kept in secured storage systems by the Accreditation Manager.

Training Agency Personnel        33.5.3
      Agency personnel shall receive information regarding the accreditation process as
       follows:

    a.  The Accreditation Manager will ensure that all newly hired agency personnel receive
       information regarding the accreditation process within thirty days after their employment
       begins or within thirty days after completing the recruit academy. Field Training Officers
       can assist with this training.    33.5.3 A

    b. The Accreditation Manager will give information to all agency personnel during the self-
       assessment phase associated with achieving initial accreditation.  33.5.3 B

    c.  The Accreditation Manager will give information to all agency personnel prior to an on-
         site assessment. 33.5.3 C  This can be accomplished through department wide email or
        briefings at roll call.

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