Return to Main Page

Old Town Police Department
Report to the Council
1998

April 5, 1999

Old Town Police Department "A Community Partnership"

As the Police Department nears the end of its community-oriented policing grant, it is with a great deal of pride that we look back at our accomplishments over the last three years. The two positions created by the grant, School Liaison Officer and Community Resource Officer, have been able to literally touch all age groups in our community. The success of these positions are evident to all of us in our daily interaction with the public which we serve.

The addition of Brother Rex Norris to our staff has been eagerly accepted. His wit and wisdom has given the employees and citizens a wonderful resource. He fills a need that both employee's and victims/citizens have during difficult situations.

Loud party complaints were an issue in 1998 and created much controversy. As a result, an ordinance was passed that enabled the city to collect expenses incurred by the police in responding to certain loud party complaints. This ordinance is a great tool in helping neighborhood issues.

The Old Town Police Department will aggressively work on pedestrian safety issues during the next year. With our approach of markings, education and enforcement, we hope to make a difference on this safety issue.

I would like to thank the Old Town City Council and its citizens for all the support that has been given to the department. I believe that we are integral part of the community and working together, we can maintain and improve the quality of life in Old Town.

Chaplain's Report

Brother Rex Anthony Norris was appointed as Department Chaplain in September 1998. Bro. Rex spends an average of twelve hours per month riding with various officers as they perform their duties.

During these 'ride-alongs', the Chaplain is able to meet privately with officers enabling them to share personal difficulties and/or stressful situations encountered at work or at home. The confidential nature of chaplain-officer conversations provide individuals with an opportunity to voice concerns they might otherwise find difficult to express.

The Chaplain also has made several hospital visits to extend concerns of the Police Department personnel for the members of the community they serve.

Bro. Rex has also provided pastoral care for a reserve officer and his family during the illness, death and funeral of a loved one.

The chaplaincy position has provided new dimensions to the police department. I would like to thank Bro. Rex for his many hours of volunteered service to our department and the community.

Detective's Report

Joel Phelps retained the Detective's position in 1998. The duties of the detective include, but are not limited to, case management and preparation as well as investigating felony crimes and those incidents which would require lengthy investigation. The detective is also subject to on-call 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Due to the addition of needed equipment, more evidence will be processed in-house than ever before which in turn will make the department much more efficient. In the past, the State Police Crime Lab in Augusta was utilized to process our evidence. With the new equipment, this will no longer be the precedent but an alternative.

The Detective and Community Relations officer continue to supplement each other, as each is available to function for the other due to absence, or as dictated by their respective work loads.

The Detective also functions as the Police Department's Court Officer for three days per week. By splitting the court officer with the Community Relations officer, both have more available time to focus on other responsibilities.

Notable in 1998

  • There were seven reported residential burglaries in 1998;
  • There were five reported burglaries to businesses;
  • There were twenty bad check requests referred to the detective in 1998; all were either prosecuted or exceptionally cleared prior to trial;
  • Fifty criminal records checks were performed; the majority were firearms purchases as well as employment checks;
  • One hundred forty one incidents of criminal mischief;
  • Ten child abuse cases were investigated;
  • Twenty-nine burglaries to motor vehicles;
  • Seventy-nine assaults were reported;
  • Two arsons were investigated;
  • Eight suspicious deaths were investigated;
  • Three hundred twenty six adult arrests were recorded; and
  • Fifty-seven juvenile arrests were recorded.

School Liaison Officer

During the past year, the department was able to continue efforts to educate our children regarding the dangers of drugs and violent behavior through the DARE program. This was accomplished through fifth grade classes at the Helen Hunt and Herbert Sargent schools. In addition, the J.A. Leonard Middle School's curriculum allowed the SLO to teach seventh grade classes. We "graduated" just over 100 fifth graders and had 130 seventh graders take part in this fun and educational program.

Activities continued from the previous year included: various speaking engagements inside and outside the classroom, facilitating a group and conducting a presentation at Freshman Awareness, coaching middle school boys soccer, staying active in the children's literacy program (Old Town Library bedtime story hour, community reading days, etc.), as well as extras such as eating lunch with students, presenting awards, swinging a jump rope or filling that "hole" at shortstop during a game of kickball during recess.

A new activity established in this past year was a closer working relationship with the Old Town Regional Program. This was accomplished through educational and enforcement components.

The SLO was called upon to provide information and explain legal situations to both staff and administrators (system wide). Another new activity was implementing the kindergarten through grade four DARE visitation program. This was the first time we were able to do this and many thanks go out to the classroom teachers who made time in their schedules. The program focused on safety and also (as does the fifth and seventh grades) how to make a good informed choice. This program is not only an entry level DARE program but also familiarizes the younger students with the SLO and establishes a good relationship at an earlier age.

Future projects include various grants to provide funding for a police/athletic recreational league (PAL) for our youth during the school year and summer months and ways to curb underage smoking through Maine's tobacco tax revenues. Another project being considered is aimed at high school students encouraging the use of seat belts. Formerly known as the "Seatbelt Challenge", this statewide program was discontinued at the state level. We hope to conduct this program prior to the end of the 98/99 school year. An item for the wish list would include office space or at the very least scheduled times where the SLO would be available to students for group discussions or one-on-one meetings depending on the situation.

I am happy to report as we come to the end of our federally funded COPS grant, both the City of Old Town and it's youth have benefitted immensely. We have been extremely successful in providing numerous programs to our youth. We have also had many 'unexpected' perks such as the development of our bike patrol. We found several areas where both the Community Relations Officer and SLO have worked side-by-side. Our youth and elderly citizens and our new community restorative justice program are good examples. The Old Town Police Department has moved from a reactive department (i.e. crime occurs; officer responds; takes report; etc.) to a very proactive department within our community. We have certainly laid an excellent foundation for future endeavors.

I am also happy to say that we have broken down many barriers between the police and the schools/community that existed prior to the SLO and Community Relations Officer. We have found (and research verifies) that once a good relationship is established with the students, a major key to success is future reinforcement and continued familiarity with the police. An excellent example are the young people who have developed relationships with an officer who are no longer frightened and/or judgmental to the police and have developed friendships and trust with the police officer. This relationship is a luxury that many other departments in our state do not have. I trust that we will be able to continue this relationship that has been in the making for the past few years and expand it to provide our young people with the tools and skills they will need for their future.

OTPD Fitness Program

1998 was the second full year that OTPD conducted its biannual testing. To date, we have tested four times. Tests are done in the spring and fall and are required for all sworn personnel. The five standardized tests are as follows:

  • One (1) repetition maximum lift bench press;
  • One (1) repetition maximum lift leg press;
  • Sit and reach (tests flexibility);
  • One (1) minute sit test; and
  • Timed One and one-half (1 ½) mile run.

These tests are consistent with Maine Criminal Justice Academy standards and are based on age, gender and body weight. Sgt. Scott Casey is the department's fitness instructor and has been certified through MCJA as a police fitness instructor.

Overall, the department has shown vast improvements since beginning the program in January of 1997. At that time, the department scored at the 43rd percentile. As of our Fall 1998 testing, we had improved to the 57th percentile. Many officers have exceeded the 90th percentile in one or more of the five tests. This all adds up to a better conditioned officer and reduced injury/sick time.

Community Resource Officer

In 1998, Officer Debbie Holmes continued her duties as Community Resource Officer for Old Town. Two of the major functions of the CRO during 1998 were the Penquis Cap Headstart program and the City's elderly housing developments. One accomplishment made during 1998 was the department's determination to educate the community regarding seat-belts. Through roadblocks, classroom lectures and one-on-one interaction, we believe we were extremely successful. A program established by the Community Resource officer was the "Back-seat bears". The design of this program was to teach childrenthe only safe place to be in an automobile was in the backseat, buckled up. This particular project was recognized by the National Highway Safety Committee. The department will be recognized as one of eight departments in the state who have done an outstanding job promoting seat-belt safety.

A very popular event with our senior citizens was the weekly exercise program. We believe that our seniors have a much more positive outlook with our department. A good number of these senior citizens are much more involved with community events as well as events within their housing project.

In mid-April, Debbie will be speaking at the Library's workshop "Be Loud, Be Proud" on Dating Safety issues. She also assisted the department's detective on investigations and was the department's court officer twice a week.

There are many goals that the Department would like to reach. We believe that it is vital to get our young people involved in as many activities as possible to keep them occupied and out of trouble. We would like to establish a Juvenile Resolution Team which would involve members of our community as well as police officers. The Town of Hampden has such a team in place at this time. We will be asking Hampden for advise and assistance to get a team going in our community.

Other goals in the works include a Junior Police Academy, with a trip to the Police Memorial in Augusta as well as coordinating with the city's summer recreation program to set up bike trips with officers who are currently participating in the department's bike patrol.

For the senior citizens, we would like to see the elderly become more visible throughout our community. At one point, the recreation department offered twice-a-week exercise walks within our city. We would like to get such a program established again. The department is currently looking into the possibilities of taking our seniors out on short trips within the proximity of Bangor (i.e. a trip to the Bangor Mall; fall foliage; MCA events).

The City of Old Town is on the cutting edge regarding the police department's relationship with all citizens. We plan to continue to utilize the School Liaison Officer and Community Resource Officer as much as we possibly can.

Goals / Challenges 1999

One of the department's goals in the coming year will address pedestrian safety. We will be attacking the problem on a three prong approach.

First, we will paint and post crosswalks in a well-defined manner. Secondly, we will attempt to educate both motorists and pedestrians through the school system and local media. Lastly, we will step up enforcement of violations. Hopefully, these steps will make our community a more user-friendly place to get around.

We will also be concentrating on getting the number of repeat offenders loud party complaints down. We will attempt to use the new ordinance to help us with this goal.

The department is in hopes to equip each marked cruiser with a defibrillator which will mean a more rapid response in emergency medical situations. This equipment has proven to save lives in those crucial first moments of a medical emergency.

Addressing the challenge of Enhanced 9-1-1 and dispatching will be an issue that we will all have to look at very carefully. Whatever choice is made, it will effect our department and the community long into the future.

Loud Party Complaints

The Old Town Police Department responded to 316 noise complaints during 1998. This figure is up from 233 in 1997.

The department's standard operating procedure is that the officer will issue a written warning to the person responsible, explaining the violation as well as the resulting charge if the noise persists. If the officer gets another complaint, the person can be summoned or arrested. Written notification is given to the landlord/property owner advising them of our action. Approximately 150 letters were sent to property owners in 1998.

Much publicity was generated by the passing of our Noise Ordinance (Reimbursement for Police Services). We are in hopes this awareness will help in abating some of our chronic offenders. The Old Town Police Department will only use this new ordinance at the appropriate time and incident.

Old Town Police Department Home Page

The department's on-line home page has been 'hit' approximately 600 times since inception. Individuals can gain access at 'HTTP//:WWW.GWI.NET/Oldtown' . We are in the process of changing our web site name to make it more user' friendly. The web site is kept updated through our dispatch center. This utility is a great connection between our community and the world.