1997-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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better ways of providing this liaison service to the 1 pro- Report of the community. Other existing community policing pro- l Police Department grams such as the Bike Patrol Unit enjoyed another � PO p productive year of operation. Our very successful "Citizens Police Academy" To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and graduated its sixth class of participants who will assist the Citizens of the Town of Mashpee: us in refining community partnerships. We hope to continue to receive grant funds to allow us to offer this I am very pleased to submit to the Board of informational program to more Town residents during Selectmen and the citizens,my fourth annual report as the coming year.Despite decreasing funds available to your Chief of Police. us through grants, we continued one of our most suc- cessful programs, the Drug Abuse Resistance MISSION: The mission of the Mashpee Police program,or"DARE",in Mashpee's schools. We hope Department is to provide the Town of Mashpee with to continue to deliver strong messages to our youth to the highest quality of professional police services to resist both drugs and violence through this nationally- effectively address the incidence of criminal activity known program. The program is now in its sixth year and service needs of the total community; to encour- and nearly 1,600 of our children have graduated from age interaction between the citizens of Mashpee and the 17-week basic DARE course. Considering other the personnel of the Mashpee Police Department, activities in the schools, DARE Officers interact with thereby promoting a cohesive environment designed over 1,000 Mashpee youngsters each school year. In to counteract the negative social influences that con- 1997, we launched another new community policing tribute to an apathetic setting where criminal and other program called TRIAD. This program is designed to I antisocial behavior is propagated.ated. promote effective partnerships hiP s between the elders of COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES: The department and the community and the police. the citizens of Mashpee accepted the implementation Many community policing programs have been of a "Community Policing" philosophy as a goal in enhanced through the department being awarded about 1992 and 1993. The philosophy, defined as bringing $1 million in federal and state grants over the past three years. We will continue to aggressively seek out police and citizens closer together in partnerships which lead to more effective working relationships these funding sources which allow a quickly develop- 'j with neighborhood groups, schools, and businesses in ing community such as Mashpee to transition into Mashpee. The Police Department continued develop- effective programs without adverse financial impact. ment toward that goal in 1997 with continued refine- ment of key programs to strengthen our commitment In the years to come,we will continue to strengthen to a partnership with the community. "Park and Walk" our partnerships with Mashpee's citizens that result in lli brings officers into closer contact with citizens when the most effective delivery of services in the true spir- officers park their cruisers and walk through targeted it of"Community Policing". During the forthcoming high-density population areas, interacting with the cit- year we will continue to refine successful programs izens. These opportunities to interact lead to a positive and examine new ones that will allow us to facilitate exchange of information and views between citizens the best possible professional working relationship and the police, resulting in the improved service by with those we serve. police to the community. Virtually every day during the past year, our officers performed great numbers of CRIMINAL ACTIVITY: 1997 was another busy "Park and Walk" assignments that are of continuing year for the department, as evidenced by our continu- benefit to all of us. ing high level of Calls for Service. Encouraging 'k decreases were noted in important crime categories Our "Liaison Officer Program" assigns officers to such as Breaking and Entering, Larceny, Auto Theft each of our neighborhood associations and communi- and Vandalism. We are exploring new grant opportu- ty organizations with a goal of having officers work nities to impact the rate of Domestic Violence in our "j with residents on solving non-emergency problems of community, which is still too high. I believe that our mutual concern that pose a threat to public peace and statistics reflect a closer partnership between the safety. To many of us, this program is reminiscent of police and our citizens. In an improved partnership, having your neighborhood cop on the beat many p y revi- citizens are inclined to re ort matters that the p years ago that proved successful in building both the ously may have felt insignificant to warrant calls to the familiarity and mutual confidence between citizens police. In response to concerns and requests from the and police which helped to solve issues of mutual con- community, our officers increased drug arrests by i- cern in the community. We are continuing to explore about 29°lo and a greater emphasis was placed on traf- 96