Town of Arlington, MA - 2005 ANNUAL REPORT

Structurally, the Department is divided into operational and support functions. A command staff of three captains assists Chief Frederick Ryan in departmental planning, budgeting and operation. The captains manage the Community Service Division, the Support Services Division and the Professional Standards/Accreditation Office. The Community Services Division is responsible for operations (patrol functions), critical incident planning and response, community policing programs, special event planning, traffic and parking management, animal control, school safety, grants coordination, and effective interaction with the community. The Support Services Division is responsible for criminal investigation, officer training, firearms licensing, hackney licensing, outside details, maintenance of departmental records, acquisition of vehicles and other support logistics, and E-911 dispatch functions. The Professional Standards/Accreditation Office is tasked with developing policies and procedures, working toward State Accreditation and Certification, investigating citizen complaints and proactively addressing issues of professional standards and accountability.

The Arlington Police Department collects incident information using a system called the National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS. NIBRS is an improvement on a system known as the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, or UCR. Since 1930, the F.B.I. has administered the UCR Program using statistics supplied by the various states. At the present time the F.B.I. is encouraging states and local agencies to switch to NIBRS, which provides a more accurate picture of crime in any given community. Only 24 states (including Massachusetts) have been certified yet and, until more agencies successfully migrate to the NIBRS format, the F.B.I. continues to report crime trends and data in the UCR format. To give context to Arlington’s statistics, we have included a chart of UCR Part I index crimes in Arlington, comparing 2004 to 2005.

As can be seen in the chart, the number of crimes rose across the board in 2005. Exceptions were the categories of murder/non-negligent homicide, which stayed at zero, and robbery, which fell by nine. The changes in the numbers, however, do not indicate a significant statistical rise or decline in the overall rate of crime in Arlington. The change in the number of robberies, for instance, is dramatic when viewed as a percentage but when taken as a whole number; the total number of robberies still represents a significantly small number for a New England community the size of Arlington. As is clear by the chart, larcenies continue to be the most common crime in Arlington.

During 2005 The Police Department investigated 907 motor vehicle crashes. This number was 87 higher than for 2004. Of that number, none was a bicycle accident, 141 were crashes with injury and 716 were crashes without injury. The most dangerous location in Arlington during 2005 continued to be Massachusetts Avenue at Pleasant Street. This is also the busiest intersection in town and a designated state highway and truck route. The Department recorded sixteen crashes there in 2005. The intersection of Mystic Street and Summer Street (11 crashes) and 23 Massachusetts Avenue (11 crashes) were also trouble spots. Traffic enforcement was hampered again this year by a reduction in force in the general patrol division that necessitated the frequent reassignment of traffic personnel to regular patrol duties. If staffing can be increased next year, it is anticipated that the number of crashes town-wide can be reduced through more vigorous enforcement and directed patrol.

During 2005 the Police Department gave support to the East Arlington Neighborhood Crime Watch Program. The group is made up of dedicated volunteers who are committed to keeping their neighborhood safe. Members of the group meet monthly to discuss local problems and strategize about crime prevention. In April of 2005, the group met to conduct a neighborhood clean up. A large number of volunteers spent about four hours scouring their neighborhood, armed with gloves and trash bags. By the end of the effort, well over one hundred trash bags had been filled and deposited in a designated dumpster. The residents of East Arlington are fortunate to have such a dedicated group working on their behalf.

June saw the continuation of the Police Department’s Youth Basketball League. A host of Arlington Police officers donated their time to coach and successfully provided a quality athletic program to Arlington’s youth. Although the value of athletic competition for youngsters is obvious, the program provided much more. Reaching out to young people has always been a goal of the Department’s community policing effort. It is critical that young people develop a positive image of police so that as they grow and mature they will be able to accept the mutual roles of police and the public in policing their community. Through the medium of sports, officers provided an opportunity for youngsters to interact with police in a positive, cooperative way. Hopefully, as they grow, these youngsters will carry that image of police as partners and coaches with them. Officer Ronald Kerr led the Basketball League with the assistance of Lieutenant Paul Dooley, Sergeant Robert Bongiorno, Officer Chad Brown, Officer Greg Flavin, Officer Bryan Gallagher, Officer Daniel Kelly, Officer Brendan Kiernan, Officer Dennis Mahoney, Officer Rob Pedrini and Officer James Smith. The Department also sponsored a youth hockey program during 2005 led by Officer Dan Kelly. This program expanded the reach of our youth athletic program and provided the same opportunity as the basketball league for positive interaction between police and Arlington youth.

The Department is proud of two other programs that operate throughout the year. The first is the Are You Okay? Program, which is a collaborative effort between the Police Department, the Council on Aging and the Housing Authority. Are You Okay? is an assurance program that offers subscribers daily well being phone calls. It is designed to accommodate elders, shut-ins and those who require regular well being checks. The program is run out of the Police dispatch center and has already been credited with saving a life. The second program operates on an irregular schedule throughout the year and is known as RAD, which stands for Rape Aggression Defense. This free program is offered exclusively to women and is designed to provide them with skills and self-assurance vital to surviving and escaping from a physical attack. The program is coordinated by Sergeant Richard Pedrini and staffed by Officers Jennifer McGurl, Eileen Johnson, Gina Bassett, Brandon Kindle and Michael Hogan.

In July of 2005 a local computer repair company notified Arlington Police that they had found suspected child pornography on the hard drive of a computer left at their business for repair. Officer Ronald Kerr responded to the call and assisted Arlington Police Inspectors who also responded. Officer Kerr interviewed the business owner and technician. He learned that the technician~had taken~the hard~drive out~of a~customer’s computer~order to do an overnight virus~scan, using a~program which uncompressed~a volume~of files in~the system. The technician subsequently discovered~that~there were 6~gigabytes of~movie files~and picture~files which~contained child pornography.~The files~appeared to~have been~downloaded from~KAZAA, a~peer to~peer file~sharing program.~The technician replaced the hard drive and notified the business owner who then notified police.

Inspector Brian Connerney seized the computer and took it to the NEMLEC Computer Crimes Unit, to which he is periodically assigned as a forensic technician. NEMLEC stands for the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, one of several groups the Arlington Police partner with each year in furtherance of our law enforcement role. The Computer Crimes Unit is a highly regarded group that specializes in the forensic examination of computer hard drives and other storage media. Inspector Connerney subsequently succeeded in obtaining a search warrant for the computer in question and a second computer located at the suspect’s home. As a result of the information developed during the investigation, an Arlington man was arrested and charged with child pornography violations and enticing minors. This case is one of a number of similar cases in our area in the past few years and demonstrates the disturbing growth of such crimes against children as the Internet becomes an increasingly valuable tool for such predators.

On Friday,~08/26/05 at~about 12:35 PM the Leader Bank at 141 Massachusetts Avenue was robbed by a man who brandished a weapon and demanded money. The thief fled the bank on foot, but was spotted by keen eyed neighbors as he fled. As a result, police quickly learned of his direction of flight and, importantly, of the fact that, in an effort to disguise himself, he was changing clothing as he fled. Inspector Fitzpatrick, who was on duty and Officer Joseph Dunn, who was working a paid detail in the area, quickly responded to the scene. They were joined by a large number of additional police officers who were working regular shifts and other paid details. Within a very short time, Officer Dunn and Inspector Fitzpatrick located the suspect at the rear of 155 Massachusetts Avenue. There the officers arrested the robber and recovered the money stolen from the bank along with a realistic replica firearm. After being booked at the Police Station on a charge of armed robbery while masked, the suspect made a full confession and, as of the writing of this report, the suspect’s case is still active in the courts.

At about~8:20 PM on March 20, 2005 Officer Dennis Corbett was~patrolling westerly~on Broadway, assigned to traffic enforcement duties. There was~no traffic~on the~street and~the road~appeared very~dark. ~Realizing that the store~on the~corner of~Broadway and~Oxford Street~was still~open, he decided to~check it.~ As he slowly rode by, he~Officer Corbett noticed a~male with~a yellow sweatshirt~near the~counter. ~The male appeared~to be~causing a~commotion and, suddenly, ran from the store. Believing a robbery had just occurred, Officer Corbett radioed for back-up and pulled across the street toward the store’s owner who had run out of the store after the suspect. The owner called to Officer Corbett that the man in the yellow sweatshirt had just robbed him. Officer Corbett~chased this~suspect up~Oxford St. to~the rear~of the~apartments on~Broadway. ~From there, the suspect ran toward Grafton Street, with Officer Corbett in pursuit. As~Officer Corbett pulled~around the corner~onto Grafton~St., he saw the~suspect~get into~a motor~vehicle. The motor~vehicle had~its headlights~on and~was proceeding~down Grafton~St. towards Officer Corbett.~ He pulled~directly in~front of~the car~to prevent~any escape.~ Approaching the vehicle, Officer Corbett found it occupied by the suspect and two females. Knowing from radio transmissions that the suspect was reportedly armed with a handgun, Officer Corbett secured the suspects in the vehicle until his back-up arrived. The three in the car were then removed and arrested. Officer Corbett recovered the money taken from the store along with a replica firearm. The male suspect was charged with armed robbery and the females with being accessories to armed robbery.

On February 16, 2005 Officer Bryan Gallagher,~was monitoring~traffic for~stop sign~violations at~the intersection of~Fremont Street~and Gardner~Street. ~At about 4:55 PM, Officer Gallagher observed~a vehicle travel~north on~Gardner Street~and take a~left turn~on Fremont~Street. ~Because the~officer did~not recognize the~vehicle, he entered the registration plate~into the~cruiser’s laptop computer. As the~listing came~back on~the computer,~the vehicle's~owner was~shown to~have a~revoked license~status. Since the~vehicle operator~was exiting~the vehicle,~a stop~was not~initiated at that~time. ~Approximately, five~minutes later,~a male~matching the~description of the~operator originally~observed, re-entered~the vehicle,~pulled down~Fremont Street, and~took a~right turn~onto North~Union Street.~ Officer Gallagher pulled~in behind~the vehicle~on North~Union Street~and initiated~a vehicle~stop on~North Union Street~by Gordon~Road. ~This location~is approximately~three blocks~from the Thompson~Elementary school.

Officer Gallagher subsequently arrested the operator for operating a motor vehicle after revocation of his license. Pursuant to~department policy,~an inventory~was conducted~on the suspect’s motor vehicle by~Officer Gallagher,~Officer Krepelka,~and Sgt.~Bongiorno. ~As the~vehicle was being~inventoried, Sgt.~Bongiorno found~money in~the center~console. ~Officer Gallagher took the cash to Rivera~and~asked if~he had~any other valuables~in the~vehicle. ~He stated~his wallet~was in~the vehicle.~ As the~officers were~looking for~Rivera's wallet,~Officer Krepelka~came across~a black back~pack in~the back~seat. ~When the~back pack~was unzipped,~Officer Krepelka observed~a small~glassine bag~full of~white powder.~ Due~to his training~and experience, he believed the substance to be cocaine. ~The~back pack and the rest of the car were subsequently searched by officers. During the search several~bags of~what was~believed to~be cocaine~were located in~the vehicle along with~a large~sum of~money. As a result, Sgt.~Bongiorno made~the decision to~have the~vehicle towed~back to~the Police~Station for a more~extensive search~by a K-9. Officer Femino from Medford responded to a mutual aid call and his dog located additional cocaine in the vehicle. The suspect was~charged with~trafficking cocaine, drug~violation in a school zone, possessing cocaine~with intent~to distribute~and operating~a motor~vehicle with~a revoked~license. This case is illustrative of the value of traffic enforcement. Many times, serious violations of the law first come to light following a motor vehicle stop by a curious, proactive officer.

On March 03, 2005, Inspector Sean Kiernan, working with the Suburban Middlesex~County Drug~Task Force initiated a vice investigation by answering~an ad~for~"erotic services".~ The investigation was begun because there~had been~a number~of ads~from different providers~advertising in~various task~force communities.~ The~ads were~explicit~in nature. A Task Force investigator, answering~the ad, made an appointment at a local hotel. Members~of the Suburban~Middlesex County~Drug Task~Force and~the Arlington~Police Department met~and set~up for~a period~of covert~surveillance.~ The undercover officer entered the hotel and met with the prostitute. After being solicited, the undercover gave a signal and Task Force officers entered the room. They placed~three females~into custody after~speaking with~the undercover officer.~ Task~Force and~APD officers then~recovered a~number of~cell phones~including the~cell phone~number listed in~the ad. Also recovered~were a~laptop computer~(which was turned~over to~the NEMLEC computer~unit), a~number of~papers and~records possibly related~to the~ongoing criminal~activity (including "client~numbers"), a number~of condoms~and a~small quantity~of marijuana. ~A 15 year old juvenile was arrested~and charged~with~sexual conduct~for a~fee, poss.~of class~D, and~being a~fugitive from~justice for outstanding~warrants. ~A second 15 year old juvenile was arrested and~charged with~sexual conduct~for a~fee, poss.~of class~D, and~being a fugitive~from justice~for outstanding~warrants. ~A twenty year old female was~arrested and~charged with~contributing to~the delinquency~of minor, inducing~a minor~to become~a prostitute, deriving~support from~the earnings~of a~minor prostitute, sexual~conduct for~a fee,~and possession~of marijuana. ~Using information uncovered during this investigation, Task Force investigators were able to arrest and charge a Boston man who they believe was running a string of underage prostitutes. That investigation is ongoing as it is possible that other individuals might be involved. This investigation returned two young, runaway girls to their homes and points up how vulnerable young runaways can be to the skillful manipulation of adult predators.