January 17, 2007
Honorable Board of Selectmen
William J. Lee Memorial Town Hall
1 Lafayette Street
Wakefield, Massachusetts 01880-2436
Dear Board Members:
Report of the Chief of Police
The year 2006 was a year that has resulted in much change for the men and women of the Wakefield Police Department. We hired our first female officer in many years and collectively made positive changes in our information technology abilities. Additionally, we had many changes in personnel due to impending retirements and new hires. Please find the following overview of the year 2006.
In January we finally installed laptop computers into our cruiser fleet. With the addition of these new computers that replaced an older outdated model, officers will have better wireless and secure communication with the station as well as with state and national databases from the front seat of their cruisers. The addition of these laptops should enhance the individual safety of officers. Wakefield Detectives initiated an investigation into a series of thefts by false pretences after we had received a number of complaints about credit misuse at a local travel agency. On a sad note, officers bid farewell to one of our own, Sergeant Howard Ellis. Sergeant Ellis served this department during the 1970’s and the 1980’s.
During the month of February, Detectives had gathered enough information in the Future Travel investigation to secure a criminal complaint and move forward to arraignment. This was also the month that we kicked off our first Citizens Drug Recognition Academy where we instruct adults on what to look for in their children suspected of drug use. The program was sold out and was met by rave reviews.
On March 13 officers were called to Allstate (East Coast) Concrete on New Salem Street where the bodies of two men were discovered. Investigation ruled the deaths to be homicide by firearm. Needless to say, an intense investigation was initiated that reached to all corners of the community and eventually crossed state lines. At the same time, we were experiencing a large number of motor vehicle breaks were laptops and other electronic devices were removed from unlocked vehicles.
In April the Town suffered from the spring floods that paralyzed parts of this community. Emergency management worked well with the different town agencies working very well together to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors.
Sean Fitzpatrick, formerly of Wakefield and currently from New Hampshire was arrested for the double homicide on New Salem Street during May. Officers, in concert with New Hampshire authorities and State Police Troopers from the Middlesex District Attorneys Office worked tirelessly to bring this dangerous suspect into custody. Later in the month our newest recruit Officer Ken Silva finished his training and entered into the ranks of the Department.
In early June officers finally returned Sean Fitzpatrick to Massachusetts to face charges for the double homicide in March. It was also the month that we hired officers Meaghan Leary and David Driscoll. Recruit Officer Driscoll shipped off to the Lowell Police Academy while Recruit Officer Leary entered into our field-training program since she came to us already with the academy certification. We ended the month on a tragic note. On June 23rd officers responded to a fatal accident on Lowell Street. Upon arrival, officers discovered long time resident and friend of many, Mark Delory, who was the victim of a tragic motor vehicle accident.
July wasn’t any easier for our officers when they responded to another fatal accident on North Ave. On a positive note, the Department received notice that we had received an $83,000 grant from the Department of Justice to administer the GREAT program. The task was assigned to Officer Mike O’Connell. GREAT, the acronym for Gang Resistance Education and Training is a year long program targeting middle school aged children to help guide them in steering away from drugs, guns and gangs.
Common Ground, our annual event, was held on the Wakefield Common in cooperation with the Fire Department, DPW etc. Always a great success, I applaud Officer Bill Dalton for his hard work and cooperative spirit in working with the Wakefield Elks and the community at large.
The early fall brought us into the new school year. We opened it with our annual meeting between Fire Chief Dave Parr, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maynard Suffredini, Jr. and myself. The purpose of this meeting is to plan for emergencies in our school facilities. Additionally, we held our 2nd Citizens Drug recognition Academy.
In October we were able to highlight our commitment to Community Policing by partnering with the Wakefield Rotary Club to assist us in our safety program for our elementary school children. A special thanks to the Wakefield Rotary and Offices Dave Morales and Chris Lenners for their devotion to this project. We closed the month on a sad note when Wakefield Police and Fire responded to a fatal house fire on Yale Ave in which an 88-year-old male perished.
As we wound down the year in November and December we graduated David Driscoll from the Police Academy and received good news from the Executive Office of Public Safety that we would be the recipient of $6,000 for Highway Safety funds and $47,999.55 in Community Policing funds. The Community Policing funding was a decrease of 4% from last year due to a budget freeze on Beacon Hill.
The request for police services for the year is outlined below:
CALLS FOR SERVICE 9971
PERSONS ARRESTED 287
Males 286 Females 41
Adults 258 Juveniles 29
MOTOR VEHICLE VIOLATIONS 1549
Most Frequent:
Speeding 501
Red Light Violation 292
Seat Belt 160
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS 304
Accidents w/Injury 120
Accidents w/o Injury 181
Fatal Accidents 3
PARKING VIOLATIONS 2694
PROPERTY STOLEN $890,147
RECOVERED $84,517
COMMUNITY POLICING
Community Policing is the way of life in the Wakefield Police Department. It is a philosophy that we live by every day. Although there are many “Community Policing” programs, managing our day-to-day operations with the community in mind demonstrates our commitment. We solve problems, produce solutions and investigate incidents with the community at the forefront. Additionally we partner with many people and agencies within the Town.
This year we embarked on a new program. The Citizen Drug Recognition Academy is a program that educates parents about the hazards and problems associated with our youth. This program was spearheaded by Officers Dave Morales and Bob Ramocki and was met with great success. My plan is to continue with the program to continue educating our community about this serious problem.
This past year we were awarded $83,000 in grant money to develop a gang resistance and mentoring program. This program, commonly known as the GREAT program allowed for us to replace an officer who was assigned to the middle school. Officer Mike O’Connell has done a tremendous job in developing this curriculum and implementing the project.
Our RAD (Rape Aggression and Defense) program has continued after being funded by outside contributors as well as by funds derived from our Community Policing Grant. This program is also a favorite in the community.
We continue to continue of philosophy of education and prevention. Through this approach we hopefully can reduce crime and keep our community a desirable place to live work and play.
INVESTIGATIONS
During the year Wakefield Police Officers investigated a number of serious crimes. The majority of those are outlined below. Detectives were very busy early this year with the investigation of the double homicide back in March. Additionally officers made a number of drug related arrests and participated in many raids of homes etc for drug violations. Property crimes still seem to be the largest category of offences and through diligent patrol, our hope is to reduce them as much as possible.
Homicide 2
Sex Crimes (all categories) 6
Robbery 9
Burglary 47
Assaults 123
Motor Vehicles Stolen 26
Disturbances 1156
PERSONNEL
Although we had no retirements in 2006, we were preparing for the retirement of three officers after the first of January. Currently we are training new officers to replace D/Sgt Gerry Curran, Sgt Tom MacHenry and Ptl. Dave DuShane who will be retiring. Additionally, we mourned the passing of Sergeant Howie Ellis, a long time officer who had retired from the department. We hired and trained officers Silva, Leary and Driscoll. We welcome them to our family.
TRAINING
All of our officers continue to receive the best training we can provide for them. Our regular training regimens take place on an annual basis with specialized training taking place when we can afford it and when there is a need. Officers train twice annually at the range to maintain their proficiency in handling firearms and special weapons. Officers are also recertified annually in CPR and First Responder. Over the past three years, each of our officers have been trained in the Incident Command System (ICS) as well as the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as required under Homeland Security. A special thanks to the officers who are responsible for the training and to all the officers for their continuous pursuit for excellence.
In closing, I would like to thank the men and women of the Wakefield Police Department for the job they do each and every day. This year was an especially trying time for all of our officers with the homicides and the tragic deaths that they encountered. I commend them for their professionalism and compassion they have shown to the public, the victims, the survivors, and to one another. Each and every day these officers rise to the occasion and get the job done. To that, I am grateful.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard E. Smith
Chief of Police
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