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An Eye for Detail
Georgetown PD's detective talks about years as head investigator
By Matt Phillion
Detective Supervisor Thomas DeJoy ended up a member of the Georgetown Police Department without even asking.
A new resident of Georgetown and former special officer for the Swampscott Police Department at the time, DeJoy came to the station to apply for a gun permit. He struck up a conversation with former Chief Richard Spencer about his background and why he needed the permit.
"The chief asked me if I was interested in becoming a reserve officer," said DeJoy. It didn't take long for him to say yes.
Oddly enough, it was public service that brought DeJoy to Georgetown in the first place. He knew the town had a call fire department.
"That was one of the attractions to Georgetown," said DeJoy.
DeJoy spent a year as a member of the Erie 4 station before joining the police department. Fears about overlapping emergencies - having to chose between responding to a police or a fire call during simultaneous problems - forced DeJoy to end his career as a call fireman to devote his time to police work.
DeJoy became the department's first and only detective in the early 1990s when Spencer selected him for the new position.
"We were at the point where we really needed someone to start looking into things," said Spencer, who noted that other, similar communities, like Rowley, also created equivalent positions around the same time. "It was just a matter of our community growing."
DeJoy's role is to handle all criminal investigations occurring in town.
"If I'm not on duty, another officer will take the report and I'll follow up," said DeJoy. "If it's serious enough they'll call me in right away."
DeJoy said the highlight of the job is seeing a case through from beginning to end.
"I love to be able to help people, especially victims who have had property stolen - being able to see those items returned to them," said DeJoy. "Apprehending and arresting the people responsible gives me a lot of satisfaction, seeing things through to completion."
By the same token, the toughest part of the job is knowing that once in a while a case will grow cold.
"Sometimes you come to a dead end," said DeJoy. "You think you have solid leads and then you find you just have to wait and see what develops."
While he tries to give every single case equal time and attention, there are times when he has to chase down cases with more clear-cut resolutions.
"Sometimes you have to pursue the most solvable cases first," said DeJoy.
When he's off-duty, DeJoy looks for quieter pursuits, including fishing and photography - an interest fostered by skills he picked up through courses on crime scene photography.
The detective is highly complimentary of his department and the town he serves.
"I truly enjoy working with my fellow officers," said DeJoy. "They're all top-notch. And this community has a lot of wonderful people who really support this department."
This article originally appeared in the Georgetown Record , by Matt Phillion/ Mphillio@Cnc.Com
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