2005 AR | 04 ANNUAL REPORT | 03 ANNUAL REPORT | 02 Annual Report | 01 ANNUAL REPORT

2005 Annual Report
I herewith respectfully submit the Annual Report for the Nahant Police Department for the year ending December 31, 2005.

The year 2005 was another extremely busy for this department. Calls for service continue to increase every year.

Personnel:
Officer Matt Furlong resigned to take a position with the Lynn Police Department. Matt was a very competent, well-liked and able police officer. We all will miss him and wish him well in his new endeavor.

Training and Programs :
We continue our in-service training at the Municipal Police Training Committee Academy at Reading. Each officer receives one-week refresher training each year. In addition our EMT-D officers are sent to courses every year and recertified every 2nd year. Our Field Training Officers ( Sgt. J. Paul Manley & Officer Michael D. Waters ) are responsible for the mentoring and training for the new hires as well as the entire department.

Grants:
As stated in past years grant programs have been drastically cut back or in some cases eliminated. I have recently learned that the Legislature is considering a “Grant Formula” based upon some of the criteria the State uses to distribute Lottery Sales Revenue. This will indeed be bad news for Nahant as one of the factors this system uses is population while completely ignoring our unique geographical location with immediate proximity to Logan Airport flight patterns, the Boston Shipping Channels and other issues specific to Nahant.

Hopefully given that this budget is in draft form it will be changed! I will be in contact with our legislative delegation to express my displeasure and concerns on this proposal. That being said this year we again were very fortunate to receive a “ Community Policing Grant” from the Executive Office Of Public Safety in the amount of $61,750.00.


Website:
I would again invite all residents to review our website. It contains a wealth of information that I believe is very interesting and always changing and being updated. While there please take a moment and submit your answers to our “Community Survey”. We again are deeply indebted to, Robert Wilson at 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. The public is invited to look at our web site at www.nahantpolice.org and while there please take a moment to give your feed back by taking our “Community Survey”.

A new webpage has been added to assist those interested in a Law Enforcement Career with our department. As a public service the information is restated here;

Interested In Law Enforcement As A Career?

The Nahant Police Department is a modern, progressive, innovative department and committed to the Philosophy Of Community Policing. If you are interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement the following information is provided so that you may have a better understanding on how to become a Nahant Police Officer.

Reserve Officer;
In order to be considered for appointment as a Reserve Police Officer you must have attended and graduated from a Municipal Police Training Committee Academy basic course for reserve police officers. The ideal candidates will also posses E911 dispatcher training and First Responder or EMT certification and hold a valid Massachusetts drivers license. The Nahant Police Department will consider hiring and sponsoring (depending on vacancy) an individual that meets criteria set forth. A candidate must be responsible for his/her own training academy expenses as well a sign a waiver of liability releasing the Town Of Nahant from any and all claims as a result of injury or accident related to academy attendance.

Full Time Officer;
Must take and successfully pass a competitive examination. The examination is held once every three years and the passing candidates remain eligible for appointment during that period. The next exam will be held in the Spring of 2006. The ideal candidate for full time employment shall have completed a Municipal Police Training Committee Full Time Academy. Equivalent academies from other states will be considered if they are approved by the Committee. The ideal candidate shall also be E911 certified and EMT/D certified and hold a valid Massachusetts drivers license. The candidate must furnish three references preferably from the law enforcement field and must undergo a comprehensive background check. Notice of examination date will be posted at www.nahantpolice.org as well as being published in the local newspapers.

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. You will continue to see the previous italicized sentence in every report I submit. Let’s not get caught short when the time arrives!

As in the past we will be asking for a replacement cruiser in 2006. This will continue the cycle of timely vehicle replacement, allowing for much greater trade in value and keeping our officers in safe vehicles.

Community Policing Initiatives:
Thanks to State Funding we have not had to cut any of our programs that were developed as a result of these funds being made available.

Park and Walk program, Are You Okay Program (which has also continues to be available to the Swampscott Police Department at no cost to that municipality), RAD courses run by Officer Stephen Shultz, which are always well received by the ladies that participate.

The “Neighborhood & Waterfront Crime Watch Programs” are beginning to generate interest after a low level of initial participation by the citizenry. I would strongly recommend that if you or neighborhood is interested contacting Crime Watch Officer Conti. Officer Conti is always available to your group or organization. I urge you to become more involved in YOUR community.

Sgt. Manley is developing two new initiatives for the upcoming year. One is the 55 Alive Program for persons over 55 years of age in which participants receive a reduction in their automobile insurance for successful completion. The other is a police explorer program for the younger people in Town. We hope for wide community participation.

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

Special Notice Concerning Telephone Solicitation:
T he Nahant Police Department does not endorse or sponsor any telephone solicitations. Any organization purporting to be raising funds on our behalf or the behalf of any Police group should be considered with suspicion.

Please contact the Nahant Police Department or the Massachusetts Attorney General should you be solicited.

Racial Profiling Notice:
If you believe that you were stopped by a Nahant Police Officer because of your race or gender, you may report the incident by calling the Nahant Police Department at 781-581-1212 or by calling this toll free number: 1-866-6RACIAL (1-866-672-2425). For more information, visit the Executive Office Of Public Safety Racial And Gender Profiling Hotline page. http://www.state.ma.us/eops/hotline.htm

In Conclusion:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board Of Selectmen, the Town Administrator Mark Cullinan; Town Accountant Deborah Waters, Treasurer Joni Bingham, Town Clerk Harriet Steeves, Administrative Assistants Sue Behen and Katie Costin in the Selectmen’s Office and the entire Town Hall staff and all other Departments, Committees and Boards for their assistance during the past year.

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

Sincerely,

William F. Waters
Chief Of Police