NH State Accreditation Public Comment Session

The Portsmouth Police Department is proud to announce that we have been working toward gaining accreditation by the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (NHLEAC). NHLEAC Accreditation is a voluntary process by which the agency seeks recognition of professional excellence in law enforcement. As part of the NH State Accreditation process, the Portsmouth Police Department is required to comply with 115 standards issued by the NH Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission to gain state accreditation status. These standards require that the agency demonstrate hundreds of individual proofs of compliance covering the overall and day-to-day operations of the agency. 

To complete the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Accreditation process, a team of assessors, appointed by NHLEAC will arrive at the Portsmouth Police Department on February 4th, 2026, to examine all aspects of the agency’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services. A review of written materials, interviews with individual personnel and observation of activities will provide the assessors with the ability to verify compliance with each of the standards. 

As part of this onsite assessment, members of the community are invited to offer comments to the Assessment Team by phone. The public is invited to contact the Assessment Team at 603-610-7471 on February 4th, 2026, between the hours of 10:00AM and 11:00AM. Telephone comments should be brief and should only address the agency’s ability to comply with NHLEAC Standards. 

A copy of the NHLEAC Standards are available for review at the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training website at https://www.pstc.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt896/files/documents/leac-accrediation-standards.pdf. Questions concerning compliance with any of the standards may be directed to Accreditation Manager Kate Young via email at youngk@portsmouthnhpd.gov.

Persons wishing to offer written comments about the Portsmouth Police Department’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation are asked to contact: NH Law Enforcement Accreditation Support and Management Specialist, Lt. Sonya Robichau at sonya.m.robicheau@pst.nh.gov. 

Accreditation is for three (3) years, during which time the agency will maintain continued compliance with those applicable standards under which they are accredited. For more information regarding the NH Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, please contact Lt. Sonya Robichau.