The Elm Park neighborhood in Worcester was “once overrun with drug dealers,” according to the Chairman of the Massachusetts Neighborhood Crime Watch Committee, Michael Yacino. But now the community has been reestablished through a group crime watch program, Elm Park/Prep Plus Neighborhood Inc., which encourages relationships between senior citizens and adolescents.
One of the program’s initiatives uses grant money to hire teenagers to sweep streets and shovel snow for the elderly.
“It’s about neighbors – not just calling the police – and looking out for each other,” said Elm Park/Prep Plus Chairman James Connolly, explaining the success of the program, which won the Crime Watch Group of the Year award yesterday at the Statehouse.
Local and state officials joined with representatives from the Massachusetts Crime Watch Committee to “give a pat on the back to those who deserve it,” according to Crime Watch Program Coordinator Caileen Fitzgerald at the fifth annual awards ceremony.
The ceremony honored individuals and organizations that made significant contributions in preventing crime within Massachusetts communities this year.
“We are here to honor those who volunteer their time aside from their regular duties to their communities and community crime groups,” said Fitzgerald, a South Boston resident.
The Crime Watch Commission, founded in 1992, is under the administrative authority of the State Department of Housing and Community Development and covers 351 communities over the entire state. Jane Wallace-Grumble, director of the DHCD, praised the commission for its achievements prior to introducing two speakers.
“We have been able to establish a variety of programs because we’ve had a link to the communities and this has led to a safer Massachusetts,” Wallace-Grumble said. “This isn’t about what we do in state government; this is about what you do in state government.”
Wallace-Grumble introduced United States Attorney Michael Sullivan, who said he was especially delighted to honor “exemplary work represented by the very best and finest in community crime prevention and detection” since October is National Crime Prevention Month.
With 70 million victims of crime in the country last year, Sullivan said, “We cannot afford to be complacent.”
“[This program] has created a foundation of success to be replicated as we are presented with new and changing challenges,” he said. “We are on the right road, but we have not completed our journey.”
The commission is the only state-funded crime watch program in the country, but its funding has been jeopardized for the past two years by budget cuts in state legislation. However, with the “friendship and coordination of efforts” between the commission and Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety James Jajuga, the commission was able to receive funding again, according to Fitzgerald.
The commission has also established a donation fund for outside support.
Jajuga followed Sullivan at the podium, commending the community and crime watch program for “being the nuts and bolts and the first line of defense.” He expressed confidence in the program and encouraged a secure financial support for it in the future.
“We need to reach new stakeholders as part of this process,” said Jajuga. “If we learned anything from Sept. 11, it’s driven home that we all have to work together — none of us can do this alone. As we move forward, we will become closer partners in protecting Massachusetts and protecting our homeland.”
Sept. 11 has not significantly changed the focus for the group, Fitzgerald said. However, she did point out an increase in participation since the attacks. She also mentioned a few changes and addition of topics, but said the commission “still retains basic community-law enforcement coordination.”
Yacino presented the awards to the winners who were nominated by police officers, citizens and organizations. Individuals and groups who demonstrated creativity and motivation in dealing with crime issues, such as police officer Frank Mackenzie-Lamb of the Wayland Police Department, who used the police department’s website to establish a medium for citizens to notify police of any criminal activity. The Goodwill Industries and Goodwill Shoppes of Springfield were awarded the Business of the Year for allowing crime watch programs to conduct their meetings in their office space and “take the business side a little bit further with their community,” Fitzgerald said.
MADD Massachusetts received special recognition for developing a program called Youth in Action to create youth-adult partnerships in combating underage drinking. The group conducted statewide alcohol purchase surveys and encouraged zero tolerance laws in Boston and around the state.