Wenham police department wins re-accreditation from state commission

The Wenham Police Department announced that it has been awarded re-accreditation by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC), Police Chief Kevin DiNapoli said.

The department received the distinction during MPAC's meeting on Oct. 20 in Marlborough. The department became a certified agency in 2013 and gained full accreditation status in 2014, and it has achieved re-accreditation every three years since.

Accreditation is described as a self-initiated, lengthy and comprehensive evaluation process that includes an internal self-review and an external assessment by MPAC experts. It is a voluntary evaluation through which police departments work to meet and maintain top law enforcement standards, and it is considered a measure for comparing a department against established best practices nationally and regionally.

The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program includes 257 mandatory standards and 125 optional standards. To achieve accreditation status, a department must meet all applicable mandatory standards and at least 60% of the optional standards. The standards cover areas including jurisdiction and mutual aid, collection and preservation of evidence, communications, working conditions, crime analysis, community involvement, financial management, internal affairs, juvenile operations, patrol administration, public information, records, training, traffic, drug enforcement and victim/witness assistance.

"Achieving re-accreditation reflects our department's ongoing commitment to professionalism, accountability and providing the highest level of service to the Wenham community," DiNapoli said. "This process requires dedication and attention to detail from our entire team, and I'm proud of the work our officers and staff do every day to uphold these standards and continually improve the services we provide to our residents."

Source: Wenham Police Department announcement, October 26, 2026.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the original announcement. It was corrected where it differed.