Marblehead police chief touts community outreach

MARBLEHEAD – Eleven months after a consultant?s critical report about the police department, police are working on a three-year improvement plan and selectmen have accepted their progress report.Former Superintendent of Schools Philip Devaux, who worked on the plan with Police Chief Robert Picariello and a 12-member committee, called the three-year time frame “very ambitious” Wednesday.?The (police) command staff is as big as everyone around this table,” Devaux said, indicating the nine persons in that group. “They do this in addition to their everyday work.”Picariello noted that the normal strategic plan covers five years, but the police plan was shortened due to “a sense of urgency.”Last November?s Strategic Planning Partnership report came in response to the tragic 2009 traffic death of 15-year-old Alessandra “Allie” Castner, which raised a series of questions about the police department?s investigation and operations.The chief said he wants to meet with selectmen to discuss the accreditation of the police department, which he said will be a two-to-three year process.The chief said within a year he will begin scheduling annual meetings with each police officer and “interacting” with officers on their shifts. He added that he is now seeking technology that will reduce the time officers spend writing reports, improve record-keeping and analyze the kinds of incidents officers respond to.He plans to introduce programs to help officers reduce property crimes and prevent traffic violations, two of the town?s most frequent incident calls. And he is looking for ways to increase the number of officers in the department.Police are now scheduling at least two community forums a year, visiting elementary schools and playing basketball with teens at the YMCA when off-duty. The department is also building a relationship with the town?s growing elderly population. Picariello has also inquired about joining the Chamber of Commerce.?We want to be as user-friendly as we can,” Picariello said.He also plans to modernize the holding cells, replace energy-inefficient windows, redesign the dispatch center and install narrow-band radios that will allow cruisers to communicate with each other.Committee members also include Town Counsel Jeff Shribman, Fire Chief Jason Gilliland, Council on Aging Director Patricia Roberts, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ann Marie Casey, Marblehead High Principal Ken Weinstein, local resident F. Marshall Bauer, Finance Committee member Patricia Moore, Marblehead Counseling Center Executive Director Paul Crosby, Police Lt. Matthew Freemen and Police Sgt. Sean Brady.