Commonwealth Conversations: Public Safety

Don't Hate!

Nurys Camargo, Senior Policy Advisor, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

We recently heard about the two young ladies in Minnesota who hung themselves after being bullied for not fitting in and being overweight. That’s ridiculous that our children have to commit suicide due to another’s person’s bias and hatred.

A hate crime is any criminal act motivated by bigotry and bias.  That bias can be based on racial, religious, ethnic, handicap, gender or sexual orientation prejudice. Through harassment, intimidation, or violence, hate crimes are an assault on our constitutional rights and our physical wellbeing. And they cannot be tolerated.

Crimes motivated by hatred and bias are among the most serious challenges to public safety our Commonwealth faces. The Patrick-Murray administration is committed to preventing, responding to and supporting the victims of hate crimes in every community.

Since 1991, Massachusetts has been aggregating data from local police departments on the number and nature of hate crimes reported in every one of the Commonwealth’s communities. For more information on these reports visit www.mass.gov/eops.

Ending hate crimes in our communities requires each of us to do our part. Raising awareness about hate crimes and the promotion of non-violent, tolerant attitudes are the most important tools we have to improve the safety of all Massachusetts citizens.

Well Deserved Thank You

Secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan
Secretary, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Secretary Heffernan's bio

I had the privilege for the second year in a row to attend and participate in the annual State     9-1-1 Awards Ceremony at the beautifully restored Mechanics Hall building in downtown Worcester. It was a grand affair and I was honored to have been the event keynote speaker.

But this ceremony wasn’t to highlight any accomplishment of mine, rather the men and women in the Commonwealth I very often refer to as the true “first responders” to the emergencies faced by the residents of this great state each and every day and the vitally important role they play in the delivery of public safety.  9-1-1 Telecommunicators in Massachusetts answered close to 4 million calls from citizens needing help last year.

9 Telecommunicators were honored this year for their outstanding performance and the extraordinary measures taken during emergency situations that led to a positive outcome of a 9-1-1 emergency call. While their recognition is well deserved, I believe all emergency Telecommunicators in Massachusetts deserve recognition for the work they do.  How they react can determine the outcome of a serious situation. They’re nothing short of heroes. So to those honored at the 4th annual ceremony and to all others, from the people of Massachusetts I say thank you. 
 

For the Record...

Saundra Edwards, Chair, Sex Offender Registry Board

As Chair of the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB), I often have the opportunity to travel around the Commonwealth.  In the course of my travels, I frequently hear from members of the public, including concerned parents, the victim community, and public officials, as well as various partnering criminal justice agencies, and am reminded of how very public our role is in keeping families safe. 

SORB is one tool with a distinct, but important role in the criminal justice toolbox to help protect the public. In essence, SORB provides to you, the public, an important piece of information – the level of risk and danger a sex offender poses to the community and information about that offender.

Until the SORB law passed, it wasn’t easy to get this information, but the Legislature and Courts decided that the law was a way for the public to protect itself by making them aware of this class of criminals.  The law requires sex offenders to register and we consolidate their information into a large database available to law enforcement. We then classify offenders by level, and then disseminate that information to police. You can look up Level 3 offenders by name, county, city or town, zip code and incarcerated status on our public website www.mass.gov/sorb. Level 2 offender information is also available by going to your local police department and completing a request form.

Because of our name, many people incorrectly, but understandably assume that we also supervise and manage sex offenders, but we do not perform that function.  Under the law there are other agencies such as the Probation Department, and the Parole Board, who on a case by case basis, may supervise individual sex offenders once sentenced or released from incarceration. 

Many people also question why, if a sex offender is a high risk, he or she can be on the street, or live near a school, park or playground.  The answer is that here in the Commonwealth, a Court decides whether an offender will serve a sentence for their sex offense, how long they must be incarcerated and whether any supervision and conditions should be imposed.  The reality is that sex offenders live in our communities so go to our website and check it often.

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover!

Nurys Camargo, Senior Policy Advisor, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

Have you thought about your personal perceptions towards people and how it affects the way we treat them at times?  How we grew up, what are parents said around the house and what we watch on TV often play huge factors when it comes to racial profiling.  Thanks to a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on Tuesday, March 15, 2010, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, together with the Highway Safety Division, launched our Fair and Impartial Policing Training at UMASS Boston for law enforcement officials, as well as residents and community leaders. 

We hope that creating these trainings will enhance the understanding of racial profiling and how the brain works and reacts.  What I’m most excited about is that these trainings were developed using the stories and experiences of real people, both law enforcement personnel and community residents from all over the Commonwealth. 

The Fair and Impartial Policing training will be available to anyone interested in preventing racial profiling, understand how it works and how it can affect everyday business. Most importantly, this training will focus on how racial profiling affects both the person in question and the law enforcement officer.

Topics covered in the modules include cultural influences, unconscious biases and even innate biological factors that influence how individuals react during a range of community and police interactions. These influences, including their effects and repercussions, are examined by experts from both the police and community perspectives.

The Fair and Impartial Training Workshops will serve as an important tool to help prevent racial profiling in Massachusetts.  Racial profiling can occur anywhere, anytime with anyone for whatever reason! Become aware!

Debt of Gratitude

Secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan
Secretary, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Secretary Heffernan's bio

Last week I had the sad duty of representing the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security at the funeral of Woburn Police Officer John Maguire, who was killed in the line of duty.  My thoughts and prayers, and those of the entire EOPSS staff go out to the family and friends of Officer Maguire and the entire Woburn Police Department and law enforcement community.  He made the ultimate sacrifice.  We owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to Officer Maguire and all of his public safety colleagues – police officers, firefighters and others – who put themselves in harm’s way to protect us.

In Remembrance

Secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan
Secretary, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Secretary Heffernan's bio

For many, this time of year is one of joy and thanks.  However, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge that, the Commonwealth lost two members of our public safety family this week, Middlesex County Sheriff James V. DiPaola and Rehoboth Firefighter Kenneth Marshall Jr. 

In this difficult time, I pause to honor the service of both men, and offer my thoughts and prayers to both the DiPaola and Marshall families.

27th Annual Hanna Awards

Secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan
Secretary, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Secretary Heffernan's bio

Today, I had the honor, along with Governor Patrick and Lt. Governor Murray, of presiding over the 27th Annual Hanna Awards.  The Hanna Award Ceremony is an annual event, named after Massachusetts State Trooper George L. Hanna Jr., who was tragically killed in the line of duty on February 26, 1983.

This year, we were able to recognize the acts of bravery and selflessness of 32 local police officers and five state troopers involved in 10 separate incidents comprising a range of heroic actions, including apprehending armed suspects, pulling a distraught man off a building ledge, entering a building to serve an arrest warrant while taking fire from an accused drug dealer, and rescuing a young girl who was being held against her will by the man who had just murdered her mother.

At the event, I was able to observe the honorees and their family members, friends and colleagues gathered in the House Chamber of the State House.  It served as a great reminder to me, of the importance of taking a moment daily to reflect on and recognize the contributions and sacrifices our state, local and federal law enforcement officers make on our behalf each and every day. 

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan
Secretary, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Secretary Heffernan's bio

This past Friday, I was honored to have the opportunity to speak at the 3-Day Institute on Advanced Law Enforcement Practice in Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.   There, veteran law enforcement officers were given the opportunity to learn about cutting edge/best practices in responding to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.

The training, which ran from Wednesday to Friday last week, was funded by a grant from the EOPSS Office of Grants and Research and was a collaborative effort between EOPSS and the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), in coordination with Jane Doe, Inc.  The timing was quite fitting, given that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

I could not have been more pleased than at the end of the training, when I was approached by two veteran Boston Police Officers who wanted me to know that it was the best training they had attended in the past several years. 

Throughout my career, whether as a prosecutor, as Executive Director of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, or in my current role as Secretary, I have seen firsthand how domestic violence and sexual assault cases are among the most complicated and difficult that law enforcement encounter, and because of that, I am extremely proud that over the last few years, we have been able to make a number of advancements in this field. 

Specifically, the Massachusetts Policy for Law Enforcement Response to Domestic Violence was updated and promulgated and the Sexual Assault Law Enforcement Guidelines were created, both of which have been broadly disseminated to law enforcement across the Commonwealth.  

Additionally, this year, Governor Patrick signed two important pieces of legislation into law- the first gives greater protection of victims of sexual abuse and intimidation by allowing victims to obtain criminally enforceable restraining orders against any offender, regardless of their relationship with the victim, and the second expands and updates the use of victim compensation funds to provide greater relief to victims, including extending compensation for reasonable mental health counseling obtained as a result of the crime.

Finally, despite facing difficult budget choices caused by the worst recession in generations, this administration has recognized the importance of the MPTC and proposed to increase funding for it three times in the last two years. We will continue to push for the resources they need. 

Though there is still so much work to be done, I am proud to say that we are moving in the right direction, with increased trainings, standardized best practices and guidelines, and legislative changes which provide better protection and services for those who need it most. 

Impaired Driving – A Serious Threat Any Time of Day

Colonel Marian J. McGovern
Superintendent, Massachusetts State Police
Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Colonel McGovern's bio

Those of us in law enforcement know that anything can happen, at any time, in any place.  But even knowing that, you still don’t always think it can happen to you.  Yet that is just what happened to me on the morning of Monday, Oct. 11, when I was driving to General Headquarters in my cruiser, an unmarked Ford Explorer. I  was on Route 20 in Shrewsbury just before 11:45 a.m. when I stopped at a red light at the intersection with Grafton Street.  There was another car stopped in front of me.  In my rear view mirror, I noticed another car coming toward me.  As I observed it, I realized that the car was not slowing down and that it was going to rear-end me.  With no time to take evasive maneuvers, I braced for the impact.

As soon as the rear-end collision was over, I got out of my cruiser and went over to the other car to check on the driver.  My first thought was that the woman appeared to have been knocked out in the crash.  As I got closer and opened the door, I realized that the woman driving was not unconscious, but something else.  Because the case has developed into a pending criminal prosecution, it would be inappropriate for me to speak in too much detail about my observations.  I will say only that, as a trained law enforcement officer, I quickly formed the opinion that she was operating under the influence.  I placed a call to our Troop C Headquarters in Holden to report the crash and request that a trooper respond.  The driver was placed under arrest for operating under the influence, as well as for driving without an active license and failure to take care in stopping.

First and foremost, I am grateful that neither I nor the woman who hit me was hurt in the crash.   I shudder to think what could have happened if she had not hit me, but rather, continued down Route 20.  Would she have gone on to hit a pedestrian or a car with children in the back seat?  Would she have veered off the road and rolled over?  Would she have crossed over the median and hit another car head on?  Much was made in the media after the crash about how this was this woman’s unlucky day – how unlucky do you have to be, after all, to drive drunk into the Colonel of the State Police.  But in a sense this was her lucky day – she is very fortunate that she didn’t kill herself or someone else that morning.

We know all too well the sad consequences of drunk driving.  We know it personally, because in June, Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Douglas Weddleton was struck and killed by one accused drunk driver after he had pulled over another accused drunk driver.

The crash reinforced the sad fact that we are never safe from drunk drivers, even at 11:45 on a Monday morning.  For the Massachusetts State Police, enforcement of impaired driving laws has always been, and always will be, a priority.  So far this year, state troopers have arrested more than 3,700 drunk drivers. Last year we took nearly 5,000 drunk drivers off the road.  We are out on the state’s roadways around the clock, day after day, looking for impaired drivers.  We often complement our three daily shifts with additional saturation patrols.  This past summer, we rolled extra patrols across the state on every weekend night.  Those extra patrols alone arrested 77 drunk drivers and cited hundreds of other drivers for unsafe driving behaviors.  In December, we will roll another of our “Drunk Driving.  Over the Limit. Under Arrest” campaigns, which will provide for hundreds of extra four-hour patrols over a three-week period. We continue to run sobriety checkpoints on many weekend nights.  Our commitment to finding and arresting drunk drivers has never been stronger.

The credit for that does not belong to me.  Rather, it is because of the excellent work of the men and women of this department – dedicated public servants who risk their own safety to protect our roadways. I am tremendously proud of the work they do, and their willingness to risk the full measure of sacrifice, as Sgt. Weddleton did, to make this state a safer place for the rest of us.