Honorable Board of Selectmen
William J. Lee Memorial Town Hall
1 Lafayette Street
Wakefield, Massachusetts 01880-2436
Report of the Chief of Police
Dear Board Members,
The year 2009 was a year of radical change for the men and women of the Wakefield Police Department. Our mission, although unchanged, became more difficult than in past years with many devastating budget cuts from the outside that resulted in major staffing shortfalls midyear. In the end, we continued to move the department forward by providing the best police services possible while operating under tough economic times.
January was a very busy month, especially for our narcotics division. Our staff has been working with outside agencies to try to stem the tide of the drug flow and limit the amount of violations occurring. The drug of choice, opiates, are becoming more prevalent. K9 Leo has proven to be a great asset to us with his response to many of our officer’s calls for K9 support.
During the month of February, officers made a number of alcohol related arrests. One was very newsworthy when Officer Leary stopped a motor vehicle and after making observations, arrested a party for his 3rd offence of operating under the influence. Our narcotics officers were very busy this month conducting a number of undercover narcotics cases. One such arrest resulted in the seizure of two motor vehicles. These vehicles will remain in the custody of the Police Department until adjudicated by the court. In an interesting twist, officers received information from a confidential informant that a defendant previously arrested for trafficking in narcotics was planning to leave the country. Based on the information received, officers secured arrest warrants and arrested the party as he was leaving his house with the intention of
passing through Logan Airport to catch a flight to Guatemala. Once in custody, he was transported to the court where he was held on $1 million surety. Officers were also able to arrest a local couple for distribution of Class B methadone in a school zone. I would also like to commend Officer Ken Silva has spearheaded an effort amongst other officers to both locate and take into custody members of the community who are wanted by the court system for a variety of criminal issues, helping to ensure that our neighborhoods remain safe.
We began a new enforcement program in March whereby officers are performing directed traffic patrols to certain targeted areas of high incidents. This program, conceived by Lieut Calabrese, will hopefully reduce the incidents of drunk driving while at the same time making our streets safer. Officer Matthew Warren is one of several officers who have helped us to maintain a high level of consistency in our traffic enforcement efforts. Officers also responded to a horrific fatal motor vehicle accident whereby the victim was ejected from the vehicle on Rte 95 and landed on the pavement below on the Rte 129 rotary near exit 40. Sgt Skory continues to do an exceptional job as our Traffic Supervisor, helping to maintain a high level of both safety and efficiency on our roadways.
As the good weather of early spring arrived, we began to ramp up some community based programs. Officers Leary and O’Connell were assigned to the Schools to assist in the “Second Step” program, a prevention program run by the School Department. This reassignment was only possible through a School Safety Grant written by the Police Department with the help of the School Department.
May began with a terrible motor vehicle accident in the parking lot of the North East Regional Vocational School parking lot which resulted in the death of a 19 year old resident. As a result of that death and the exposure to the stressors of responding to these types of accidents, we mandated that all officers involved participate in a stress management program. Additionally, we activated the NEMLEC STARS project which brought counselors and guidance to the students and staff at the vocational school that witnessed or felt the effects of the accident. These types of events are very difficult for first responders. Thankfully, through regional planning and cooperative agreements, we are able to access these valuable resources.
June brought the first real fiscal hit to the Police Department. Governor Patrick, with the support of the Legislature, drastically reduced the Police Career Incentive Program (Quinn Bill). As a result of that action, three officers retired for fear of losing part of their pension. At the same time the Legislature, again with the approval of the Governor passed sweeping changes to the pension laws. Although they did not immediately impact the pensions of our officers, these officers left for fear of the unknown and with the intent to take care of their families. This loss brought the total number of officer reduction to seven from the 43 officers we had this time last year. With one swipe of the pen on Beacon Hill, we lost over a hundred years of experience with little hope of finding training in the future to replace these
officers.
The summer months were busy and demanding for the officers since we were operating at a 19% force reduction and the fact that our calls for service rose about 9%. Much of this rise was due to the economy and the many calls for services that our constituents requested. Motorcycle noise was an issue in some neighborhoods and as a result the department purchased, through a grant, a decibel meter. Officers, under the leadership of Lieut Calabrese and Sgt Haggerty will be trained on proper usage of the meter as well as noise abatement practices.
The only homicide investigated during 2009 was with the discovery of a body of a Hispanic male on Audubon Rd. Investigation revealed that the male was a former resident of the Guatemalan community in Everett. Due to a language barrier presented, Officer Mike Taylor, who speaks and understands Spanish was called in to assist. Additionally, a new transferee from the Revere Police Department was pressed into service to help and serve as a liaison between the Wakefield Police and Spanish speaking family members and potential witnesses. To date the homicide has not been solved, but we continue to investigate as information surfaces.
During the early fall we continued with our training regimens. We held an interactive training session at the Public Safety Building with members of the Police, Fire, Schools, DPW and Light Dept relating to the new emergency cell phone system we collectively purchased. These telephones, housed and maintained at the Wakefield Police Station, are and can be used in emergency situations as well as at events whereby interdepartmental communication is required or needed.
The Department also began using performance appraisals for new personnel. This program has provided the necessary insight to the work habits and skills of our new employees. I am grateful to both of our Unions for working in concert with management to make this program work.
The fall months also brought about some lobbying on behalf of our staff. I was asked to represent the Wakefield Police in testimony outlining the devastating effects on staffing levels as a result of pension reform and Quinn Bill reduction. Optimistically speaking, I am hopeful that the Legislature will heed the warning of the staff reductions that we all suffered due to the above mentioned legislative changes.
We closed the year out on a positive note. Sgt Skory and Officer McCaul completed their critical incident management training and began to share their lessons with the command staff outlining what to watch for in our officers’ lives that could be causing stress and diminished work performance. This was a final wrap up of the program started earlier in the year to reduce post traumatic stressors.
Finally, the electronic finger print scanner arrived and officers are now being trained in its use. This will be a valuable tool in helping locating missing and/or wanted people who have interaction with us.
Lastly, we are completing our redesigned website. Managed internally by Officer Maglio, and designed by Officer Maglio, Sgt Reboulet, Det. O’Connell and Officer Driscoll, I am sure that you will find a high quality, professional and informative website. Feel free to view it at: www.wakefieldpd.org.
The request for police services for the year is outlined below:
COMMUNITY POLICING
Community policing is just not a name for a program in Wakefield, it is a way of life. In the early 1800’s Sir Robert Peel, father of modern day policing stated that “the police are the people and the people are the police”. In saying so, he defined what we do all day, every day.
From a programmatic stand point, Community Policing funding was made available through a series of grants provided by the Executive Office of Public Safety. This past year, due to budget cuts at the state level, all community policing funds were cut and eliminated. As a result, many of our “extra” programs had to be eliminated. The Rape Aggression Defense Program (RAD) was eliminated as well as our Halloween school safety program. Our Resource Officer at the Galvin Middle School was pulled back and placed into patrol thus putting the department in a reactionary mode to problem solving at the Middle School. Having an officer in the Galvin was an asset to the teachers, students and the Police Department. Our relationship with the Wakefield Alliance Against Violence is still intact, although we made some adjustments to reduce
overtime costs of the officer assigned. We have developed school evacuation plans for our schools and have updated our floor plans of each and every school in the district. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Wakefield Police continue to meet with school officials on a monthly basis to ensure that our schools are safe and that those attending have the best opportunities for a solid education. Retired officer Al Sarafian works closely with the US Marine Corps Reserve in collecting toys for the Toys for Tots program in an effort to deliver toys for the holidays to those who are less fortunate. Officer Sarafian retired earlier this year but has offered to stay on as a volunteer to keep the program alive. He is also responsible for raising money for the Jimmy Fund through the Chiefs of Police canister drive. Hats off to Officer Sarafian!
INVESTIGATIONS
During the year Wakefield Police Officers investigated a number of serious crimes. The majority of those are outlined below. With the new personnel in the Detective Bureau due to retirement and transfer, we have had a new direction. Much of the focus has been to try to reduce property crimes and a large part of time has been invested in trying to reduce the flow of drugs in town. Our Detective Division, under the leadership of Sgt Dinanno, is unsurpassed in both their dedication to the job and their determination in solving crime.
PERSONNEL
The year 2009 the Department suffered the largest turnover of personnel in recent memory. Lieutenant Pherson, Sergeant Connor, Detective Moccia, and Patrol Officers Conway, Sarafian, Petrucci and Ramocki all retired before mid year. In a few short months, we lost hundreds of years of experience. At the same time we promoted Sergeant Craig Calabrese to Lieutenant and Patrol Officer Chris Lenners to Sergeant. Officer Mike O’Connell was promoted into the Detective Bureau and Michael Taylor was trained as our backup Prosecutor. Additionally, we hired three officers; Josiah Curry, Andrew Dorney and Amy Toothaker as recruits and Officers Jorge Romero and Kelly Tobyne from the re-hire list. Officer Romero came to us from the Revere Police while Officer Tobyne joined our ranks from the Danvers Police Department.
TRAINING
Most of our “in-service” mandated refresher training is now done in-house in an attempt to save money. Using the internet and through cooperative agreement with the Massachusetts Police Training Council, we are now able to reduce “offsite” training by fifty percent. At the same time, we implemented online training with our software vendor which allows us to eliminate expensive training at their Grafton facility thus saving time and fuel. This is a tremendous aid in reducing overtime costs. All of our officers continue to receive the best training we can provide for them. Officers, as stated above, received training in post traumatic stress reduction, child safety seat installation, narcotics recognition and advanced management and leadership training. Additionally, officers are being trained in the use of electronic
fingerprint technology and other new high tech items as they materialize. I would like to personally thank Sgt. Chris Lenners for taking the lead on this project. Our certification process is moving forward with an eye on completing certification during 2010. Lieut. Calabrese and Sgt Reboulet have worked very hard on this endeavor.
Each year I take a few moments to extol the virtues of the men and women who work for the Wakefield Police. This year is no different. Although the faces may change and the mission may be altered due to events around the world, the men and women of the Wakefield Police Department are proud of what they do and who they serve. Each day our people come to work and give it their best. They do the work twenty four hours per day, seven days a week. They are here to serve you, in the bright and sunny summer days and in the bitterly cold and snowy winter nights. It is an honor to have the opportunity to work with these fine police officers and each and every resident of Wakefield should know that their tax dollars are well spent on these quality officers.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard E. Smith
Chief of Police
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