2003 AR | Return To The Current Annual Report |

2003 Annual Report
I herewith respectfully submit the Annual Report for the Nahant Police Department for the year ending December 31, 2003.

The year 2003 was extremely busy for this department calls for service and response increase dramatically over 2002.

Personnel:
This year we had two patrolmen leave for private sector employment, Officer Paul S. English and Officer Kevin O'Brien. We all wish them well with their chosen fields of endeavor. Reserve Officer Matthew Furlong was appointed to fill the vacancy from the entrance exam list. We were most fortunate to have Mat come onboard. He is fully academy trained, EMT/D and 911 certified. Officer Furlong will make a fine addition to our department. I'm also very pleased to report Officer J. Paul Manley was promoted to sergeant form the promotional list. This appointment provides for supervision on various shifts that previously went without staff officers' supervision. Sergeant Manley has already demonstrated superior leadership skills.

Training and Programs :
We continue to try to avail ourselves of various grants to receive specialized and updated training. This past year Sergeant Manley attended SRO (School Resource Officer) training this will complement his role as the department DARE Officer. Officer Stephen Shultz attended a RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) instructor course and has already conducted a very successful course for a group of ladies, which was very enthusiastically received by those who attended. Several more courses will be held each year. Please check our web site at www.nahantpolice.org for class dates and times.

I would also like to commend Officer Shultz for his fund raising efforts on behalf the RAD program. He has raised almost $2,000.00 dollars for this worthwhile endeavor. I would like to acknowledge a very generous donation from Wal-Mart in Lynn of $1,000.00 dollars for this purpose.

All officers receive annual recertification from the MPTC (Municipal Police Training Committee). We continue to make use of LETN (Law Enforcement Television Network) via satellite which is funded through the EOPS (Executive Office Of Public Safety) grant. In addition all officers receive annual EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training.

Grants:
Grant programs have been drastically cut back or in some cases eliminated. The Governor's pledge of no new taxes along with the state's deficit has had disastrous implications as far as State Funding for “Community Policing Initiatives”. That being said we were fortunate to receive the following: a “Community Policing Grant” from EOPS of $61,750.00. A $9,800.00 grant was also obtained to replace our aging Breathalyzer with a state of the art unit. Also a grant of $7,000.00 was received from GHSB (Governor's Highway Safety Bureau) for equipment and four mobilizations for seat belt and OUI enforcement. A grant for $3,436.00 was obtained from BJA (Bureau Of Justice Assistance) for replacing certain bulletproof vests.

The "DARE Program" went unfunded again this year, we were however able to utilize a portion of our EOPS Grant to keep our program alive in the Nahant Johnson School as well as fund the SRO position. Without resumption of State funding the DARE program it will end in Nahant in 2005.

We will continue to strive for any and all grants that may become available. The grant writing and reporting requirements are very extensive, but do yield substantial dividends. Grant funding has made possible many initiatives, programs and equipment purchases that could not have been accomplished with out it.

Website:
I would like to invite all residents to visit our website. It contains a wealth of information that I believe is very interesting. While there please take a moment and submit your answers to our “Community Survey”. We again are deeply indebted to, Robert Wilson of Collage Works for his outstanding work and design on our behalf. It should also be noted that Internet Access, E-Mail and our presence on Web are made possible in part by grant funding from EOPS.

Nahant 150th :
As you all know this was the year of Nahant's 150th year of incorporation as a Town. The numerous and varied events of the past year kept the department extremely busy. I would like to take this opportunity to thank and commend all of the department personnel for their dedication to duty and the hard work on their part that allowed the Town Of Nahant and its residents and visitors to enjoy the many events that the committee planned, in a safe and enjoyable manor. We would also take this time to extend our thanks Skip Frary and all the members of the 150th Committee for their cooperation and assistance with all the many and various events, parade, fireworks, etc., etc.

Building and Equipment :
The building is in good condition with no major repairs or renovations planned. One caveat however, this building is well over 100 years old and was never designed as a police station. As mentioned last year thought should be given to a replacement structure to avoid the pitfalls of last minute crisis planning. All of our equipment is in good condition thanks mainly to grants we have received over the past four years. We will be seeking replacement of one four-year-old cruiser in 2004 that has come to the end of its life as a useful, reliable and safe police cruiser.

Community Policing Initiatives:
Thanks to grant funding we were able to maintain the “Park & Walk Program” This program has been well received as it not only provides for additional patrols but puts the officers in direct contact with the general public and the local establishments. The “Neighborhood & Waterfront Crime Watch" Programs are beginning to generate interest after a low level of initial participation by the citizenry. We are anticipating the arrival of a state of the art fingerprinting system. This system known as AFIS (Automatic Fingerprint Identification System) will enable us to take prints and immediately forward them to State and Federal agencies for submission and to check against their data bases. The AFIS system cost $36,000.00 and was funded by another EOPS grant.

As an anecdote to taking our “Community Policing Philosophy” even further, after the Town Of Swampscott tragically lost one of its elderly seniors last year we agreed to let the Swampscott Police Department piggy-back off of our “Are You Okay System”. This system was obtained by the Nahant Police Department on a previous EOPS grant. As a result of this in December they received an alert from us that one of their seniors had failed to answer the computer generated call.

Swampscott Police responded and found that the resident had fallen down the cellar stairs and had received a broken hip. There is little doubt the Nahant system saved a Swampscott resident's life. This is what I believe is the true spirit of Community Policing is about, not only reaching out to our community, but reaching out to other cities and towns to allow sharing of resources. This is more important now than ever due to shrinking resources. This department strongly urges all residents that may live alone or have health issues to become a member of this program. It's free and could save your life! For further information on this program please call 781-581-1212 and sign up today!

There are numerous other violation categories. Any resident desiring additional information can contact the records section, M-F 8AM-4PM.

In Conclusion:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board Of Selectmen, the Town Administrator Mark Cullinan; Town Accountant Deborah Cormier, Treasurer Nancy Locke, Town Clerk Harriet Steeves and the entire Town Hall staff and all other departments, committees and boards that have interaction with the police department for their assistance during the past year.

I would like to thank Senator McGee and Representative Walsh for their assistance through out the year with both legislative and fiscal matters.

Also appreciation and thanks go to John Mello DBA Nahant Dunken Donuts Café for his very generous donation of $2,000.00.

Additionally I would like to commend and thank all the personnel in this department for their unselfish dedication and loyalty to duty to the department and the town.

Last but certainly not least, thanks to you the private citizens of this town that have shown your support in many ways. The spirit of cooperation this department has received makes a tough job much easier.

Sincerely,

William F. Waters
Chief Of Police