Executive Order  No. 392: To establish a Massachusetts Municipal Police Accreditation Program

WHEREAS, accreditation of municipal police departments is an important tool in assuring that police departments are current with the latest advances in law enforcement training, techniques and procedures;

WHEREAS, many police departments within the commonwealth desire to achieve accreditation based upon standards adopted by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies ('CALEA');

WHEREAS, the law enforcement community of the commonwealth recognizes that the CALEA standards on accreditation have been thoroughly researched and evaluated;

WHEREAS, accreditation is a progressive and time-proven way of assisting institutions to evaluate and improve their overall performance;

WHEREAS, the key to a successful program of accreditation lies in the consensus of published and circulated standards containing a clear statement of professional objectives;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM F. WELD, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Supreme Executive Magistrate, do hereby order and decree that:

1. The Secretary of Public Safety is authorized to establish a Massachusetts Municipal Police Accreditation Commission within the Executive Office of Public Safety to consist of no more than nine members. The Secretary shall appoint the members of the commission which shall consist of four members of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association of which three such members shall be members of the Accreditation Committee of said Association, one member from the Massachusetts Municipal Association, two members from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Coalition and two members of the general public

2. The commission is authorized to develop standards of accreditation consistent with the national CALEA standards. In addition, the Commission is also authorized to develop additional standards consistent with the needs of municipal police departments and the communities they serve. The commission shall determine which standards shall be mandatory and which standards shall be optional and shall be the sole arbiter of accreditation of municipal police departments within the commonwealth.

3. The Secretary of Public Safety, upon the recommendation of the commission, may appoint an executive director of the commission who shall report to the Secretary of Public Safety. The Secretary of Public Safety may appoint such other positions as may be necessary for the development and maintenance of an accreditation program.

4. The commission is authorized to charge departments an assessment for participation in the program. The amount of said assessment to be determined by the commission.

Given at the Executive Chamber in

Boston this 17th day of October, one

thousand nine hundred and ninety-six.

WIlliam F. Weld

Governor

William Francis Galvin

Secretary of State