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Abington
Town Report 2009 |
It
has been an honor and privilege to serve the residents of
Abington in 2009. Once again, I submit this year’s annual
report with great pride in the men and women who wear the
uniform of the Abington Police Department. Over the past twelve
months, members of this department have continued to serve
our residents with tireless dedication and compassion. In
return, residents have worked with our department to form
an ever increasing community partnership. Working with groups
such as the Abington Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association,
the Abington Anti-Drug Collation, and the Civilian Victim
Advocate teams continue to strengthen our ability to offer
quality service and insure that Abington is a safe place to
live, work and raise a family. In summary, our motto of “Community
Partners” has become a mainstay.
However, as the town continues to increase in population and
issues become more diverse, the police department must also
simultaneously expand in both our number of personnel and
the specialized services we can provide. With this said, it
has become apparent that the town is truly at a crossroad
when it comes to its policing. The “Sleepy Hollow”
of Abington past has given way to an incredibly demanding
Abington of present. Currently, with funding for only 27 officers
as compared to 30 officers in the late 1990’s, officers
are finding it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
keep up with the increasing demand and are clearly exhibiting
signs of burnout and fatigue. Additionally, in this litigious
society, issues that were once relatively simple to cope with
in the past, are much more complex and time consuming to effectively
resolve today. Officers are spending more time than ever conducting
follow-up investigations and interviews and writing detailed
reports, instead of proactively patrolling our streets to
deter crime.
Over the past twelve months, the Detective Division was completely
disbanded and the detectives were placed back in uniform to
answer calls for service. As a result, many proactive and/or
follow-up investigations have been either severely delayed
or eliminated completely. This includes critical drug investigations;
and this will have future negative impacts on our town.
To make this point even more clear, the following chart reveals
an overview of the department’s statistical data for
the last decade. While the chart clearly shows the growing
volume of incidents, it does not accurately represent the
increasing complexity and potential danger of the almost 30,000
calls for service in 2008. The ever increasing trend continues
and in calendar year 2009 (which is not yet available on the
chart), the department arrested or took out criminal complaints
on a record-setting 1,206 individuals.
Once the department first establishes sufficient personnel
to answer residential calls for service and proactively investigate
crimes, I strongly believe that the time has come to hire
and appoint a School Resource Officer in our public school
system. As I have stated in previous town reports, besides
law enforcement duties, this officer’s primary responsibility
would be to work hand in hand with school personnel to educate
our youth about the dangers of substance abuse. Furthermore,
this officer would act as a mentor and positive role model
for our youth.
Additionally, I am also requesting funding for civilian dispatchers
to work with our officers in the dispatch unit. Currently,
we have one police officer manning dispatch; and some of their
duties include answering all business phone calls, 911 police
and fire calls, maintaining radio contact and responding to
requests of police officers in the field, servicing the public
at the counter, reviewing teletype information, inputting
and retrieving both pre-and post arrival data for officers,
and monitoring both the station and prisoners. Additionally,
in the coming months, the state is in the process of mandating
pre-arrival emergency medical dispatch information for all
911 centers. This addition will require that officers stay
on the line with callers and give precise instructions to
callers. Clearly, this will be more than one individual can
handle, and I strongly believe that the time has come to hire
and train civilian dispatchers to assist officers. I am fearful
that failure to act immediately will have a devastating future
effect for the town during a crisis.
As we move forward during these difficult times, please be
assured that members of the Abington Police Department will
continue to serve the townspeople to the best of their ability.
Collectively, all members of the department truly care about
the community they serve and the citizens that live, work
and travel within its borders.
In closing, as always, I would like to thank the fine officers
of this department, the numerous board members that serve
the townspeople, and most importantly, the residents of the
town for their vigilant support.
Sincerely,
David G. Majenski
Chief of Police
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