Blackstone Valley Drug Task Force
Blackstone is an active member in 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.
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 and motorcycle 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. Citizens may either call the Blackstone Police Department to schedule an appointment or may walk in to do so when the officer is working. Officer Joseph Niemczyk is certified in the installation and inspection of child seats.
REMEMBER, YOU CAN REDUCE THE RISK BY HAVING YOUR CHILD ALWAYS RIDE IN A PROPERLY FASTENED AND SECURED SEAT.
Officer Phil Program
This program is provided to the elementary grade students K-5. If not for the funding and assistance of the businesses in town, this program would not be possible.
Officer Phil Program helps educate children about safety, crime prevention, values and responsibilities in a way that they will not only understand, but also remember. This program helps transmit community standards and builds respect for strengthening relationships with authority figures such as Parents, Education and Police.
Child I.D. Program
You are able to get a copy of your child’s photo and fingerprints on disk to take home with you in case of an emergency. Lieutenant Gregory Gilmore is in charge of this program. He provides this program during the towns public safety day, but if you are not able to be there, then you can go to the personnel section of the police web page where you can send him an email and set up a time to get this done.
Online Safe 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 “Internet Purchase Exchange Location” to ensure that residents have a safe, secure and public meeting place to conduct purchases and sales of items. Residents can meet in the parking lot or the lobby.
The Blackstone Police Station is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and covered by security cameras.
