Mulligan: The Past and Future of the PD
By Chief James Mulligan/ From the chief's desk
My name is James E. Mulligan. If you live in Georgetown, I am your chief of police. I will celebrate two years in this position on March 29. I have over 31 years of experience as a police officer. I wanted to write to you, the citizens of Georgetown, and highlight some of the changes and updates your police department has undergone. I was very lucky to come here because of the people in this community and the great men and women who serve on the department.
I would like to list some of those changes and updates. Our uniforms were updated to a traditional navy blue police uniform. We designed and now wear a custom police badge with our town hall in the center. Using grants and with the assistance of Whittier Vocational School students we updated rules and regulations and standard operating procedure manuals, and changed the police fleet to traditional black and white with a contemporary design for higher visibility. We have computerized the work schedule.
Training for all officers and dispatchers has been increased across the board, and we have created field training officers who train new officers prior to them going into the field.
After our communications center was hit by lightning we were lucky enough to have the Merrimack, NH Police Department, where my brother is chief, donate an entire communications center to replace it. This has been installed and is up and running with minimum cost to our town. Our dispatchers designed the work stations to suit their needs.
Our recruiting program includes extensive background investigation and physical fitness testing. We have instituted a motorcycle patrol from grants and have trained three officers in the safe operation of the motorcycle for use in daily patrols. Three computers have been placed in marked patrol units to assist officers in the field. The department's fleet has been expanded from four to seven vehicles at no cost. We have added a "community policing unit from a donation form the Massachusetts State Police for use at all community events.
With the retirement of a veteran officers we were able to hire a replacement for his position and received a grant for $125,000 for a school resource officer. Both officers were hired on July 1, 2004.
During this period we received a Community Policing Grant for $46,800. This was used for extra patrols on the weekends.
Other community policing related achievements:
We sponsored a summer baseball camp for 200 Georgetown children.
Officers were trained in the safe installation of car seats, and a program was instituted to help parents with this issue. We purchased and gave away 100 free children's bicycle helmet .
We have also named an officer to work with our senior citizens. He has started a wellness and safety check program and meets with senior groups and the Council on Aging routinely to coordinate services.
Our school resource officer has been able to deal with traffic safety issues at all three schools, working with crossing guards and school administrators and staff. With school administrators, he developed a security plan for each building and conducted safety drills
There have been several promotions, including a sergeant to lieutenant; an acting sergeant to permanent; four patrolmen named to master patrolmen; and a detective patrolman named detective supervisor. All of this was accomplished while staying within our budget.
We have also continued to be responsible for the safety and security of our community. The department responded to 16,905 calls for service last year, making 203 arrests (149 male and 54 female), and handling 119 motor vehicle accidents. Officers issued 160 motor vehicle summonses, and handled 42 domestic violence cases. With the grown of Georgetown I expect to see an increase in all incidents handled by our officers.
Georgetown continues to grow. Just drive down the road and you will see new streets being carved out of the woods. We have just seen a large apartment complex open and a number of new developments planned. I have received your phone calls and letters about all the traffic and your requests for more enforcement.
As your police chief I think it's important that you understand Georgetown is growing and changing and your police department will have to grow and change to meet the needs of our community in the future. I would like to add an officer on the second shift, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
This would allow us to have an officer to assign to calls for traffic enforcement and to perform crime prevention duties when the other officers are tied up at calls for service. At our present manpower levels officers are assigned to a traffic enforcement detail are often called to handle complaints, taking them away from that assignment.
The cost to reinstate this officer's position would be approximately $50,000. At present we have a reserve officer who paid his own way through the full-time police academy and has passed all hiring requirements. If able to hire this officer, we would see savings of approximately $28,000, which includes the six months he would not have to be off the street attending the academy.
With the exception of a grant-funded position, the department has not grown at all in the last ten years while the town has and continues to grow. You live in a safe community. The calls for service and the responsibility of the officers in the field continue to increase, however. Just last week we were called to investigate 29 burglaries in one day at the Longview Apartment Complex which tied up the entire shift. This week we are investigate an arson case at Baldpate Hospital that occurred at the height of the March 8 snow storm. I assure you if this position is not funded, the men and women of the Georgetown Police Department will continue to provide the best protection and service to your community. The board of Selectmen has been very supportive of the department and I thank them for that support.
Future projects include working with Town Administrator Stephen Delaney and Town Accountant Toni Mertz in updating the present training room at the public safety building into a modern emergency operation center and training area for the police and fire departments. This will include work stations for all town departments that would participate in emergency situations. Homeland Security grants and other donations to Georgetown are funding this.
As you can see it has been a very busy two years. It has also been a very rewarding experience. I and the men and women of the department take great pride in our work and the town and citizens we serve.
This article originally appeared in the Georgetown Record on Thursday, March 24, 2005. by Matt Phillion/ Mphillio@Cnc.Com
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