Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

The Brighton Police Dept. has achieved a special honor — that of being recognized as a fully accredited police agency in the state of Michigan. Officials of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police were in attendance at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to award the city’s police force a Certificate of Accreditation.

MACP Executive Director Robert Stevenson told council, “I’m extremely proud of your city and chief of police for undertaking this…It’s a lot of work.” He added, “You have a very good police dept….and a great reputation throughout Southeast Michigan.”

The dept. must comply with 108 standards in order to achieve accredited status. Stevenson said after the two-year submission process was completed, the accreditation commission voted unanimously to make Brighton a fully accredited police dept.

The accreditation is good for three years, after which the Brighton police force will have to undergo a re-accreditation process. During that period, the dept. must submit annual reports attesting that it has remained in compliance with the standards under which it was initially accredited.

Chief Brent Pirochta said he was proud to receive the certification award on behalf of the police dept., saying, “It truly helped us focus on being the best that we could be to serve the community with courage and integrity.”

The city of Brighton Police Dept. is only the 76th police agency in the state out of nearly 600 to achieve full accreditation.