Somerset - The town Police Department is expected to receive state accreditation this morning, chief Joseph C. Ferreira said. Ferreira has a 9 a.m. meeting with the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission at the Hopkinton Police Department, where he anticipates receiving the good news.

In a recent letter, commission Executive Director Donna Mooers told Ferreira that the department’s request for accreditation would be “reviewed” at the meeting. “The findings of the Assessment Team indicate that your department met all of the requirements for accreditation and therefore should be presented to the commission for review and recognition,” the letter read. “We’re thrilled,” Ferreira said. “This is the end of an eight-year process.”

The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission is part of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and sets standards for the state’s accredited or certified law-enforcement agencies. The state program is based on national standards set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
Certification and accreditation allow an independent evaluation of an agency to ensure departments are operating in a professional, standard manner. The certification level was developed in 2001 to aid agencies starting the accreditation process.

Ferreira, who became chief three years ago, has been involved in the accreditation effort since the beginning. “It’s an incredible distinction, and achieving it involved literally thousands of man hours,” Ferreira said. Ferreira said examiners review departmental standards and policies, from the way reports are filed to the handling of prisoners. The goal, he said, is to ensure operations are handled consistently.
Accreditation is a source of pride for police departments, but there are concrete benefits, as well.

Accredited police departments are less likely to be sued, Ferreira said. When they are sued, they are more likely to prevail and if they lose a judgment, they usually pay less in damages. Ferreira said the department achieved certification last February. Ferreira said departments must meet more than 200 requirements to achieve certification, and more than 300 for accreditation. Ferreira said that less than 10 percent of all Massachusetts police departments are accredited.