2007 Annual Report

To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and
Citizens of the Town of Rochester

Annual Report 2007
Rochester Police Department

I am pleased to submit my annual report as Chief of Police. This report follows the completion of my fifth year as Chief. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the Town Departments and employees for their continuing support of the Police Department during the past year. Without the strong support of the citizens of the community, our elected officials and other Town employees, especially Tracy Eldridge and those in the Communications Department, it would be difficult for us to successfully accomplish our mission. I also need to thank my Administrative Assistant, Suzanne Maksy for her efforts to keep the administrative side of the department running smoothly. I would like to share some accomplishments from the past year.

We have continued our efforts to find grant opportunities for the department. This year we were awarded a $4,500 traffic safety grant covering overtime costs associated with additional patrols concentrating on drunk drivers, aggressive drivers, and drivers not using their seatbelt. The department also received a $11,299 community-policing grant to fund our numerous community policing efforts.

This year the department departed from many years of tradition when it purchased a Dodge Charger police vehicle instead of a Ford Crown Victoria. Much research went into this decision and to date, we are pleased with the choice we made. The vehicle cost was almost identical but we expect to see a savings in fuel due to the multi-displacement engine in the Dodge.

I continue to participate in the ORR Junior High Survival Program taking over 100 students out into the wilderness of Northfield, MA to live off the land for a full week. I am currently serving as a control chief for the regional SEMLEC search and rescue unit. I also continue to serve as a Governors appointee to the Criminal History Systems Board representing the interests of MA Chiefs. I have also been appointed as the MA Chiefs representative to the Technology Committee. I was elected to Vice President of the Plymouth County Chief’s of Police Association and look forward to serving as President next year.

The department received two awards from AAA recognizing our traffic safety efforts. The first award was for 25 years or more without a pedestrian fatality and second was the Gold Award, the highest award level given, for the many safety programs that the department runs throughout the year. The department continues to have an active role in the schools, meeting monthly with administrators from Old Colony and Rochester Memorial to help keep lines of communication open. The department also continues to have an active role in the Country Fair occurring each August. To keep up to date on department activities, I encourage you to visit our department web site at: www.rochestermapd.com for various department and town information.

Officer Kevin Flynn is in his third year as the DARE Officer (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). He is presenting drug education classes to sixth graders at the Memorial School. He has also been trained in Internet safety and will be sharing this information with students, staff, and parents. Officer Flynn has received training in school lockdown procedures and is working with both schools and regularly conducting lockdown and evacuation drills to help insure safety in the event of an emergency.

Officer Elizabeth Rich assists with the firearms licensing process, coordinates the department’s House Check Program, and has been trained as a RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) instructor. She is working with Officer Small to deliver this valuable program to local women. She is completing training to become a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, which will allow her to install car seats for residents needing assistance. If you would like to have a car seat properly installed or checked by a state certified technician, contact Officer Rich at extension 152.

Sergeant Pamela Canney continues to coordinate TRIAD program that is a partnership between the town’s older residents and the police to help them deal with crime and safety issues effecting the older population. She is also coordinating our very popular house numbering program that helps us to find people easier during emergencies. Information on these initiatives is available on our web site. Sgt. Canney serves as one of the department’s sexual assault investigation officers.

Officer Robert Small continues to teach and oversee the RAD program. If you are interested in a rape defense class, contact Officer Small at extension 155. Officer Small has been assigned as the department court liaison overseeing the departments many criminal cases as well as traffic offense hearings. He also serves as a sexual assault investigator.

Officer John Barnes remains as a certified Crisis Negotiations Officer. He is one of just a few certified Crisis Negotiations Officers in the area. Officer Barnes coordinates Sexual Offender Records for the department and checks to see that any sex offenders in our town are registered with us. Questions related to sex offenders can be directed to Officer Barnes at extension 157.

Sergeant James Wassmouth has assumed many of the day-to-day administrative duties that need to be attended to during the day shift where he is assigned. He continues to oversee the department firearms training program and this year, arranged use of a state of the art firearms trailer supplied by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department to train all officers.

Officer Donald Kemmett has taken over the firearms licensing program and will process all firearms licenses for town residents. He received training to conduct background investigations and will take over this important assignment in the process of hiring new officers for the Town of Rochester. Officer Kemmett oversees the department evidence and property room and assists with court officer duties as needed.

Officer Sean Crook continues his role as the department computer coordinator. Technology in law enforcement is changing daily and Officer Crook keeps the department up to date with the latest developments. Officer Crook’s efforts continue to save the town many thousands of dollars that would have to be paid to outside firms to oversee this work. Officer Crook continues providing vital crime statistics known as NIBRS and UCR reports to the state. He has taken over responsibility of coordinating the collection and submission of arrestee fingerprints to the county, state, and FBI databases. This is an important function because of the many cases that are solved by fingerprint matching.

Sergeant William Chamberlain coordinates many of our safety programs aimed at the town’s young people. He is assigned to the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (SEMLEC) rapid response team. Sergeant Chamberlain also coordinates the administrative side of the department’s motor vehicle and parking citations. He also handles bad check cases to assist local merchants with recovering losses from checks written on closed accounts and those without sufficient funds.