FAIRHAVEN POLICE DEPARTMENT
2009 ANNUAL REPORT

The police department responded to 17,112 calls for service in 2009.

The following is a partial list of the number and types of calls for service we responded to in 2009.

Abandoned Motor Vehicle 12
Accidents, MV, Hit & Run 123
Accidents, MV vs. Pedestrian 9
Accidents, MV, Personal Injury 100
Accidents, MV, Property Damage 538
Alarm, Burglar 918
Alarm, Holdup 20
Ambulance Request 1,795
Animal Bite 21
Animal Complaints 432
Annoying Telephone Calls 47
Arrests 346
Assaults 51
Assist Motorist 323
Assist Other Agency 145
Assist Other Police Department 136
Boat in Distress 9
Burglary/Breaking & Entering (dwelling) 76
Burglary/Breaking & Entering (commercial) 14
Burglary/Breaking & Entering (auto) 91
Burglary/Breaking & Entering (vessel) 2
Burglary/Breaking & Entering (garage) 11
Child Safety Seat Installation 43
Child Abuse/Neglect 3
Disabled Auto 228
Disturbances/Disorderly Conduct 883
Domestic Violence/Family Offenses 262
Fight 56
Fraud 94
Homicide 1
Homicide (MV) 2
Illegal Dumping 18
Intoxicated Person 37
Larceny 274
Lewdness 2
Mental Health Emergency 11
Missing Person 63
Motor Vehicle Theft 15
Motor Vehicle Violations 2,174
Motor Vehicle Complaint 433
Officer Wanted 196
911 Abandoned Call 310
Peace Officer 66
Prisoner Transport 314
Protective Custody 51
Recovered Stolen M.V. 5
Reported Death 12
Restraining Order Violation 25
Robbery 5
Runaway 15
Safety/ Road Hazard 413
Search Warrants Executed 6
Serve Restraining Order 204
Sex Offenses 4
Shoplifting 96
Suicide Attempt 7
Suicide 2
Summons Service 292
Suspicious Activity 1,236
Threats to do Bodily Harm 117
Trespassing 18
Unwanted Person 81
Vandalism 275
Welfare Check 227

Tragically, Fairhaven experienced one homicide in 2009. Joshua Fitzgerald, 30, a lifelong Fairhaven resident was killed on April 4, 2009. Murder cases against two New Bedford men are pending in the death of Mr. Fitzgerald.

Three persons lost their lives on Fairhaven roadways as a result of motor vehicle accidents in 2009. One death was from a single car crash, one was a pedestrian who was struck by a truck and one was a motorcyclist who was struck by a car. One case of Motor Vehicle Homicide remains pending in court as a result of the motorcyclist who was stricken.

The number one problem facing law enforcement remains illegal drugs. The vast majority of robberies, burglaries and larcenies in Fairhaven are committed by persons seeking money to purchase or goods to trade for drugs. Substance abuse is also a major contributing factor to much of our violent crime including possession of illegal firearms.

It is a priority of the Fairhaven Police Department to stem the flow of illegal drugs into town. Our officers have made arrests for sale or possession of heroin, crack cocaine, oxycontin, marijuana and other illegal drugs over the past year. Our detectives have executed numerous search warrants in order to arrest drug dealers and seize illegal drugs.

But drugs are a regional problem. Many drug dependant persons come to Fairhaven to commit crimes in order to obtain the funds to buy drugs in other communities and vice versa. In recognition of that fact, our detectives participate in regional task forces with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the State Police and the South Coast Anti-Crime Task Force in an effort to provide a regional response to a regional problem.

Another serious challenge facing the police department is a 51% increase in Fraud/Identity theft. We received 62 complaints of ID theft in 2007 and 94 this year. We also experienced increases in house breaks and other property crimes especially shoplifting.

I believe this increase in property crime is due to a combination of factors including the difficulty many young people experience trying to find jobs and the number of people who have lost their jobs in the struggling economy as well as the continuing the regional drug problem.

The typical ID fraud case involves someone obtaining the victim’s personal identification information including social security number and mother’s maiden name and opening credit cards in the victim’s name. It’s often months before the victim finds out that credit cards in his/her name are being used.

It is extremely difficult to solve identity fraud cases. Credit cards are often opened fraudulently in residents names and used in stores and businesses on the internet or on the other side of the country and even as far away as India.

The best defense against identity theft is prevention. Make sure you shred anything containing personal identification information before putting it in the trash, cancel credit cards you haven’t used in at least 6 months and never give out personal information over the telephone. I recommend reviewing internet sites that provide in depth information on identity theft prevention such as www.identitytheft.org.

You must notify your credit card companies immediately if you suspect your identity is fraudulently being used. You must also call police to file a report. Police will provide you with the names and telephone numbers of other agencies you should contact to protect yourself in this type of situation.

House breaks have occurred in all parts of Town. Suspects are not confine themselves to one area of town but are looking for homes where no one is home during the day, where there is cover for their activities like a large amount of shrubbery or fencing, homes that are secluded and are easily entered through rear doors or windows.

We have had success in apprehending burglary suspects. But as long as there are drug dependent people in the community we will have house breaks. I strongly encourage people to report suspicious activity in and around their neighborhoods and around neighbor’s homes. We would much rather respond and find that the activity is legitimate than have someone be reluctant to call and it turn out that a neighbors home has been burglarized. Many times we have interrupted a burglary in progress and apprehended the perpetrator as a result of an alert citizen calling police about suspicious activity”.

There were 647 motor vehicle crashes in 2009 with 100 involving personal injury and 3 deaths.

Improving traffic safety and decreasing the amount and severity of motor vehicle crashes continues to be a priority for this Department. We believe that proactive efforts such as increasing enforcement, accentuating traffic safety programs, especially those involving seat belt awareness, and looking for ways to lower speeds by evaluation of speed limits and other street signage is the best traffic safety strategy.

We again received a grant from the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau to increase our traffic enforcement efforts particularly during holiday periods. We are also continuing our CRASHSTAT program which involves review of crash reports to determine locations and contributing factors to those crashes. Crash analysis documents are created using this information and enforcement efforts are geared toward those areas where the greatest number of crashes occurred. Information obtained is also used to recommend changes in signage and signaling.

This will be the last year end report I file as Chief of Police. I will be retiring effective July 5, 2009.

I have been extremely fortunate to have had the privilege to serve as the Chief of a police department composed of some of the most outstanding public safety professionals that exist anywhere.

During my tenure, I have enjoyed the unwavering support of the people of Fairhaven, Board of Selectmen, Executive Secretary and other elected and appointed officials. I thank you all for your support and guidance.

Respectfully Submitted

Gary F. Souza
Chief of Police