Danvers Police Department earns national re-accreditation

By John Laidler, Globe Correspondent

The Police Department recently earned national re-accreditation. Since 1986, the department has been accredited by the Virginia-based Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.  Danvers was the first municipal police department in Massachusetts to achieve the accreditation, a voluntary process through which police agencies are certified as meeting professional standards.

The commission officially notified the department of its latest re-accreditation in a Nov. 19 letter. The award, which extends the accreditation for three more years, followed a thorough application process that included a visit to the department by a two-person commission team this past April.  The commission also presented the department with its Accreditation With Excellence Award, an additional form of recognition it provides to law enforcement agencies that have shown excellence in developing and implementing contemporary policies and procedures, among other criteria.

“It’s really a credit to all the men and women of this department,” town manager Wayne P. Marquis said the re-accreditation and special award. “It indicates the high level of professionalism in the department.” The department earlier this year was also re-accredited at the state level by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission, according to Marquis.