Blackstone Valley Drug Task Force
Blackstone is an active member of the task force. Several area departments utilize and pool resources to help combat illegal drug use and the sale of illegal drugs in the area. Det. Travis Loether represents the Blackstone Police Department as a task force member.
Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council
The Blackstone Police Department is a member of the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, a regional task force comprised of 45 towns. Webster Police Department currently has members of two of CEMLEC’s units, SWAT and Accident Reconstruction.
The Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (CEMLEC) SWAT team was started in 1995 and was based out of the Auburn Police Department. It was started as a regional SWAT team that would be based on mutual aid agreements between the participating towns, and they would be able to provide specialized services and manpower to towns that didn’t have the manpower or the training that are necessary in certain situations. The original towns on CEMLEC were Auburn, Webster, Southbridge, and Millbury.
Today CEMLEC has grown to cover 45 cities and towns, and CEMLEC not only consists of a SWAT team, but also an Accident Reconstruction Unit, Motorcycle unit, K-9 and Drone Unit.
For more information about CEMLEC and their programs, click here to visit their website.
Mountain Bike Patrol
The Blackstone Police Department has 6 mountain bikes in operation. Mountain bikes are used for patrol in problem areas and in special events. As residence have seen, they are utilized during the Memorial Day Parade and the events following the parade. We have 14 officers that have been trained and certified in the states C.O.B.W.E.B program.
Child Safety Seat Program
Motor Vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death for young children. A minor crash or even a sudden stop can seriously injure a child who is not riding in the right type of child safety seat.
New Laws regarding the use of Child Safety Seats have been created and updated as of July 10, 2008.
Children must be in a federally approved child passenger restraint that is properly fastened and secured until they are 8 years old OR over 57″ tall.
Children ages 8 through 12 must wear a properly fastened safety belt.
A Police Officer can stop your vehicle if a child age 12 or under is not properly restrained.
For more information regarding Child Safety Seats as well as the full text law, please follow the link to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety website devoted to these new laws.
The Blackstone Police Department offers the service of installing child seats in your vehicles. Officer Joseph Niemczyk is the Blackstone Police Department’s Child Safety Seat Contact officer. Residents may contact Officer Niemczyk at 508-876-5808 or jniemczyk@blackstonepolice.org with child safety seat questions or to schedule an appointment to install a child seat. Child seat installations may also be done on a walk-in basis.
REMEMBER, YOU CAN REDUCE THE RISK BY HAVING YOUR CHILD ALWAYS RIDE IN A PROPERLY FASTENED AND SECURED SEAT.
Safe Exchange Zone
The Blackstone Police Department offers a program aimed at facilitating a safe and secure meeting place for residents to meet strangers and complete online transactions on websites like Craigslist. While Blackstone Police cannot guarantee the quality or authenticity of items purchased online, the Department is a safe “Safe Exchange Area” to ensure that residents have a safe, secure and public meeting place to conduct purchases and sales of items. Residents can meet in the front designated parking lot or the lobby.
The Blackstone Police Station is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and covered by security cameras.
All-Terrain Special Response Vehicle
The Blackstone Police All-Terrain Special Response vehicle is used for Patrol and Search & Rescue use in areas not typically accessible by a full-sized vehicle, such as at the Blackstone Greenway and wooded areas, and will also be used for special events.
