The Accreditation Manager for Stoughton Police Department is Sgt. Michael Cowgill, and the department received Re-Accreditation in June of 2022.
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 60% of the optional standards.
The accreditation process is aimed at providing accountability among agency personnel and ensuring policies are applied evenhandedly; providing a statewide norm against which agencies can judge their performance; providing a basis to correct deficiencies before they become public problems; providing independent evaluation of agency operations; enhancing the reputation of an agency, increasing public confidence; and minimizing insurance costs and agency liability.
Verification by the Assessment Team that the Department meets the Commission’s standards is part of a voluntary process to gain state Accreditation — 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.
Achieving Accreditation is a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.