Wellfleet Public Safety Review Committee
Meeting of July 9, 2002
Town Hall Hearing Room
Present: Ken Kimball, Chair; Kirsten Bakken, John Ferro, Matthew Frazier, Richard Townsend, Kenneth Roscoe, Berta Bruinooge, Lisa Brown
Chair Ken Kimball called the second meeting of the Wellfleet Public Safety Review Committee to order at 7:00 p.m. He announced with regret that Florence Schmidt would be unable to continue as a member of the committee for health reasons. The secretary called roll; the committee members introduced themselves to Ken Roscoe and Lisa Brown, who had been unable to attend the opening meeting. Ms. Brown explained her interest in the committee, stemming from her participation in town affairs and her work with young people, both as a school teacher and a community leader. Others attending the meeting were Officer Mike Hurley and Sergeant Ron Fisette of the police department, Anne Wood of the Banner, and Jeff Stewart, Wellfleet resident and member of the ZBA.
OLD BUSINESS:
Minutes of June 18, 2002. Ken Roscoe moved acceptance of the minutes of 6/18/02 as amended; Berta Bruinooge seconded; passed unanimously, 8-0.
Community Reaction. Chair Kimball asked the membership for their experiences of reaction to the committee from the communication. Responses differed:
John Ferro commented that people asked him, "What's that?" about his membership on the committee.
Berta Bruinooge stated that several people had mentioned to her reading in the Cape Codder the article concerning the first meeting.
Ken Kimball had tried to encourage people at the BOS meeting of Monday night to attend this meeting; he noted that he had not been very successful.
Lisa Brown reported that reaction had ranged from some making negative comment about the police department to young people offering to participate in meetings when items being covered pertained to them to people thanking her for impartiality in working with this group.
Meeting Procedure. Kimball then turned to the process for the meeting, explaining that the committee would be conducting a document overview of the information provided to it by the police department and compiled by employees of the Administration Office in Town Hall. He asked how the committee wished to set a stopping time. Ken Roscoe suggested that the group agree on a stop time and vote on ½ hour increments, if necessary; Lisa Brown suggested that the stop point be 8:30 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS--Kimball introduced Sgt. Fisette and Officer Hurley, who were present to lead the committee through the documents; he suggested that the group deal with the first three items: Town Charter, General Bylaws, and Police Rules and Regulations and handed out additional sheets (Monthly Overview for June 2002 and Strip and Body Cavity Search) which had not been included in the original document. Before beginning discussion, Richard Townsend asked a question on the audit section (Planning Report) which concerned the air quality in the police/fire building; he stated that the drains needed to be examined and repaired, that town employees were working in poor air quality conditions, and that the committee should visit to look at the building. Berta Bruinooge agreed that such an examination would be a
good idea, and Kirsten Bakken noted the existence of a timetable, written three years ago (page 38), for repairs in the building. Kimball added that the Town Administrator and the Building Needs Assessment Committee could be asked about this and that it was possible there were a number of health-related problems resulting from the numbers of people who come into the police/fire building.
Wellfleet Town Charter. Sgt. Ron Fisette began his review of documents with the Charter, which he stated contained very limited reference to the police department--only 2 citations. He added that the Police Department is primarily governed by state law. He stated that his understanding is that the Chief of Police answers to the BOS rather than to the Town Administrator; further, he commented that the TA is charged by the Charter to appoint all town employees except those specifically noted and that the police department falls into that the "specially noted" group. He distributed to the committee for later study copies of Chapter 41. 97A of the state law, "Police departments; chief of police; powers and duties."
Town of Wellfleet General Bylaws. Sgt. Fisette then moved to a discussion of how the bylaws affect the police department. Lisa Brown asked if the Chief has police officers attend Town Meeting; Fisette replied that this is done if areas under discussion impact the department. To Brown's question of how many officers live in the Town of Wellfleet, Fisette answered that 3 out of a total of 13 do so. Chair Kimball commented that housing problems and the cost of living in Wellfleet may be areas to which the committee needs to return. Fisette stated that Article 7 of the Bylaw contains police applications; he then moved through the Article, pausing for discussion when so warranted:
Section 7--deals with local youth. Fisette noted (and Hurley agreed) that the skateboard park has taken care of the problem of skateboarders in the Central District and is greatly to be commended. Asked by Lisa Brown if hackey-sacking is considered a sport, Fisette replied that it is considered under "ball" as an activity and has posed no problems.
Section 10--graffiti. Fisette stated there is no real problem with this.
Section 13--indecent, disorderly person, a problem once in a while. Replying to Brown's comment that prosecuting this depends upon the discretion of the officers, Fisette stated that no matter where an officer works, he must comply with the town's bylaw; however, very few people make an issue of bylaw violation, which is handled discreetly. The most prevalent problems have been skateboarding, noise, and sleeping in the open.
Section 16--discharging a firearm, also a state law. In connection with this, Fisette stated that the police have jurisdiction in the National Seashore Park and can charge under state law in the park; also, National Park Rangers are sworn in as specials in the Town of Wellfleet.
Section 19--no alcoholic consumption on public highway or town property, same as state law. It is also forbidden to have alcohol on town beaches, although not on park beaches.
Section 21--Peeping Tom law--police cannot be charged with the Peeping Tom Law when acting in discharge of their duties.
Section 24--discussion of regulations for operating vehicles on the beach
Section 25--Dog leash law; Barking dog law--Wellfleet dog officer is separate entity with her own department
Section 26--Noise bylaw was changed 2 years ago; now the time frame is from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m.; this was established to introduce reasonable action in response to neighbors' calls. Lisa Brown noted that she wished the 10 p.m. limit had gone later, which would be more in line with businesses. Sgt. Fisette replied that businesses are exempted if they get a permit or are a town-sanctioned event. He commented that Chatham has had a problem with noise in connection with renting estates out for weddings. Lisa Brown added that the town of Amherst has "party permits," and Ken Kimball remarked that this is a subject to revisit.
Section 29--number of unregistered motor vehicles garaged on property; police assist Building Inspector with this.
Section 35--Parking areas for handicapped--this follows Mass General Law. Ken Kimball remarked that the BOS has raised the fine for this offense from $25 to $300.
Section 43--Enforcement, Assessing Fines. Kimball noted that the Triad group (made up of police, fire, and council on aging representatives) has taken action on house numbering, listing homes that do not have proper signage at the request of the fire chief. Fisette stated that in the case of police and fire alarms, homeowners can be fined for not fixing faulty alarms but cannot be fined for alarms caused by faulty lines.
Police Department Rules and Regulations. Sergeant Fisette turned to the police regulation documents, commenting that rules and regulations fall by the wayside and changes are needed to get them up to date, since they are always behind. Ken Kimball commented that the town must keep up with the state changes in regulations and asked if any other body governed changes. Fisette stated that although the state is the main governor, from the courts case law dictates policies (e.g., the strip search in the bylaw references a specific case). He then turned to the specific regulations; discussion comments follow:
Regulation 1--Obeying of rules, regulations . . .--emphasizes that orders are to be obeyed with the their intent in mind.
Regulation 2--Arrest--police may make an arrest without a warrant if there is probable cause, if the offense is "more likely than not"; officers by state law are allowed to use force; the emphasis is on minimum force.
At this point, Matthew Frazier asked if there were "policies and procedures" separate from these "rules and regulations." Fisette replied that the rules and regulations make up the total with the addition of the Chief's memos, which address needs as they occur. Frazier stated that the rules and regulations contain a great deal of "boiler plate stuff" which could not be changed without the BOS approval and that some police departments for that reason institute "policies and procedures." Fisette concurred that anything of substantial change must be approved by the BOS; Ken Kimball suggested asking the Chief if he found this system difficult to work with. Ken Roscoe added that officers should be asked if, in speaking with fellow officers of other towns, they
feel Wellfleet's system is difficult. Sgt. Fisette commented that the memo system facilitates handling things in the department.
The Committee decided at this point (8:30 p.m.) to continue until 9:00 p.m. Berta Bruinooge asked (referring to State Law 97A) whether Wellfleet has a strong or a weak chief. Sgt. Fisette answered that Wellfleet's was a strong chief: he administers the department alone and controls equipment and scheduling.
Regulation 3--Sick or injured officers remaining at their residence--this is an agreement between the police federation and the town. Matt Frazier stated that this had been tried in a neighboring town and recalled in 24 hours. Sgt. Fisette suggested that the committee go into this regulation with the chief.
Regulation 6--Interviewing witnesses and victims--Berta Bruinooge asked whether it was true that there was no private interview room in the Wellfleet Police station; Fisette stated that this was correct. He then cited as an example of an effective system the Plymouth police station, which has an interview room with fingerprinting facilities right in the lobby, making it unnecessary for people to be taken inside the station. Richard Townsend mentioned another problem in the station, the firefighter training room, which was shared with the police using it as a lunchroom.
Regulation 8--Motor Vehicle Accidents--brings Wellfleet's regulations up to date with the new state crash regulations. Fisette noted "crash" as a new buzzword, used now instead of "accident."
Regulation 11--Transportation of animals. This has been changed in the interest of humanitarianism.
Regulation 13--Cells--Wellfleet has four cells in which, after 1989, bars were replaced by plexiglas, causing them to become hot in warmer weather.
Regulation 15--Media & news--this determines what information should be released to the media.
Regulation 16--Officer conduct on & off duty--discussion of behavior rules for police officers, profession conduct when not working.
Regulation 18--Vehicle pursuits--necessity for pursuit is determined by Officer in Charge, who determines whether to engage.
Regulation 19--Answering telephones. Ken Roscoe suggested that the name of the answering party be given slowly and clearly so that the caller is able to identify him. In a discussion of 911 procedures, Sgt. Fisette stated that every town has an alternate if the 911 lines are all tied up--Brewster is the alternate for Wellfleet. He added that 911 calls are evaluated and that the Reassurance Program is not a regulation, but a memo.
Chair Kimball ended the discussion at 9:00 p.m.
FURTHER BUSINESS
Matthew Frazier asked if the committee could receive a copy of the Chief of Police's contract to place with the study packet. He further requested that Officer John Taylor attend a meeting to go over the Police Federation contract.
Ken Kimball suggested, in order to schedule next month's meetings, that the members bring their calendars with them to the July 23rd meeting. Neither Lisa Brown nor John Ferro will be able to attend that meeting.
Berta Bruinooge suggested that a letter of thanks be sent to the employees in the Administrator's Office for copying and assembling the town and police documents for the committee to study. All concurred with this suggestion.
Kenneth Roscoe moved and Matthew Frazier seconded that the meeting be adjourned. The committee adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________ ___________________________
Frances J. Castillo, Assistant to the Kenneth Kimball, Chair
Committee Secretary ___________________Date
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