GBPD achieves full state accreditation
Great Barrington — Chief William Walsh Jr. has announced that the Great Barrington Police Department has achieved full state accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. The department received its award at a ceremony on Wednesday, May 3, at the Connors Center in Dover.
“We are honored to be the first department in Berkshire County to obtain accreditation,” Walsh said. “This was a department-wide commitment and would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all of our officers and staff who went above and beyond their daily duties to make it happen. In particular, I want to commend sergeants Paul Storti and Adam Carlotto and executive administrative assistant Cara Becker, who serve on our accreditation team and worked tirelessly to allow us to achieve this goal. The town can be very proud of our police officers and staff.
“Thank you also to town manager Jennifer Tabakin and the Selectboard for their support. I also want to recognize the work of former staff employees Sharon Nourse and Kim Shaw for their efforts over the years when we first began this initiative.”
Accreditation is a long and vigorous self-initiated evaluation process by which police departments strive to meet and maintain the highest standards of law enforcement practice. It is considered the best measure of a police department against the established best practices around the country and region, and involves both an internal self-review and an external assessment by the commission’s team of experts.
Under the leadership of Chief Walsh, the GBPD was evaluated by a team of commission-appointed assessors, which found the department to be in compliance with all applicable standards for accreditation. In order to earn accreditation, the GBPD had to successfully complete an on-site review of 246 mandatory standards and 83 optional standards by the commission.
The MPAC program requires that departments meet all the mandatory standards and percentage of the optional requirements. The carefully selected measures include 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, Traffic, Training, Drug Enforcement and Victim/Witness Assistance.
The commission offers two program awards: certification and accreditation, with accreditation the higher of the two. Accreditation is granted for a period of three years. Participation in the program is strictly voluntary.
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BIO’s Spring Action builds power for change
Pittsfield — A diverse assembly of over 100 leaders from 17 Berkshire County communities of faith met with members of the Berkshire state legislative delegation Sunday, April 30, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and won their recommitment to Berkshire Interfaith Organizing’s legislative agenda. After hearing testimony from BIO leaders along with many poignant stories, Sen. Adam Hinds and Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier reported to BIO on their efforts and received strong rounds of applause for their leadership on the issues facing Berkshire residents.
Rep. Paul Mark, who was unavoidably in Lowell at the last minute, indicated his leadership on food insecurity via the drafting of a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker urging the timely release of $6 million in authorized capital funds for the Massachusetts Food Trust.
The Berkshire legislative delegation has expressed support for S.1551 and H.1640, “An Act Relative to Regional Transportation Ballot Initiatives,” which would allow municipalities to band together to levy tax to support rural public transportation systems. Legislators pledged to work with BIO leaders and others to research innovative modes of public transportation that can meet Berkshire County’s unique transportation needs and do everything in their power to help secure additional funding.
After hearing stirring accounts from both immigrants and non-immigrants, Hinds and Farley-Bouvier, both strong proponents of the Safe Communities Act, responded in kind. Hinds, a member of the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs, referred to S.1305 and H.3269, “An Act to Protect the Civil Rights and Safety of all Massachusetts Residents,” as a statement declaring that all Massachusetts residents should be able to live without fear. Farley-Bouvier emphasized that this is not an easy fight and encouraged all assembled to “stay focused and be persistent in carrying out the sacred work of making our communities better for all of us.”
As the final commitment of the event, the full assembly signed single-sheet petitions urging the chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security to schedule a committee hearing on the Safe Communities Act and do everything they can to advance the bill.
