2009 Amherst & UMass Police Youth Academy

Day 4 Begins of Youth Adventure Academy

After only three days, the 20 middle school students in the Amherst and UMass Police Youth Adventure Academy have seen and learned a lot. On days one and two there were presentations and tours at both the Amherst Police Department and the UMass Police Department. On day three there was a lesson about Internet safety instructed by UMass Detective Greg Oravec. Today, Amherst Sergeant Brian Daly will be doing a segment on defensive tactics. Information on crime scenes will be presented by detectives from both agencies on Friday morning. Each afternoon the students and instructors go to the Adventure-Based Ropes Course, on the Norwottuck Range, where they are learning about the importance of team work.

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Attached Photos: 1) UMass Officer James Roberts showing the UMPD Horse Patrol, 2) Amherst Officers Jamie Reardon, Ricky Arocho and Marcus Humber work with the students at the Adventure Based Ropes Course.

Communications Center Receives Grant

Interim Chief of Police Michael Kent has announced that the Amherst Public Safety Communications Center has received a $12,473 grant from the State 911 Department’s Training Grant Program. Funding was awarded to Amherst Public Safety, and to other State public safety answering points, or PSAP’s, based on a formula of 911 calls received and population served. The money will be used by the department to fund training classes and seminars and related costs necessary for certification of our emergency dispatchers.

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For more information on the 911 Training Grant program visit www.mass.gov/e911. The State 911 Department is part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

Click It Or Ticket!

Members of the Amherst Police Department are making a special, life-changing commitment this summer to help save more lives on Massachusetts roadways by stepping up enforcement and reminding all drivers and passengers to Click It or Ticket.

The Amherst Police Department is joining more than 240 other law enforcement organizations to launch this special Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization. Increased law enforcement activities will be conducted throughout the month, targeting drivers and passengers not wearing their seat belts.

This special crackdown is taking place July 23rd through 30th. It marks one of many aggressive seat belt enforcement waves across Massachusetts designed to increase seat belt use and to decrease fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 65 percent of those killed in motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts during 2007 were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the fatal crash.

Seventy-two percent of passengers involved in a serious crash who are buckled up survive the crash. When worn correctly, seat belts have been proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and by 60 percent for passengers riding in pickup trucks, SUV's and mini-vans.

Seat belts save lives. Unless you want to risk a ticket or worse - your life - please remember to always Click It or Ticket.

This mobilization is funded through a grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. For more information visit www.mass.gov/highwaysafety.

Amherst and UMass Police Youth Academy Set to Begin Next Week!

Monday, July 20th is the first day of the Amherst and UMass Police Youth Adventure Academy. This one-week program, held through Friday, July 24th, will bring middle school aged youths to both the Amherst and UMass Police Departments for learning and adventure. Similar to a Citizens Police Academy, students will be attending morning classroom sessions instructed by Officers from both agencies focusing in the areas of law, crime scene investigation, defensive tactics, patrol procedures, and Internet safety. In the afternoon we will be at the Amherst Adventure Based Ropes Course at the Norwottuck Range.

For more information on our Youth Adventure Academy, please contact either Amherst Police Officer Todd Lang at 413-259-3000 or UMass Police Officer Brian Kellogg at 413-545-2121.

This program is funded in part by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety’s Community Policing Grant Program. For information on our other community policing programs, please see our website or contact Lt. Jennifer Gundersen.

Amherst Police Receive $40,415 Grant

Interim Police Chief Michael R. Kent is pleased to announce that the Amherst Police Department has been awarded a $40,415.00 grant from the United States Bureau of Justice. The grant program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Formula Program, provides funding to law enforcement agencies to improve law enforcement programs and technology. The Amherst Police Department intends to use this grant funding for the following:

1. Installation of a radio repeater needed for the Belchertown Road area to allow for improved radio operability in this area;

2. Purchase of mobile data terminals for installation in cruisers;

3. Fund the community policing programs that were previously funded by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Community Policing Grant program as this grant program will no longer be funded as of FY2010. Programs that will be funded include: Child Passenger Safety Seat Inspections, Seniors and Law Enforcement (SALT) Programs, Traffic Safety Initiatives, Community Enhancement Through Community Services Program, Child Safety Programs, and the Adventure Based Ropes Course Educational Program.

Citizens who wish to comment on this grant award may contact Lt. Jennifer Gundersen either via email (gundersenj@amherstma.gov) or by telephone at 413-259-3012. For more information on the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Formula Program, please visit the United States Bureau of Justice website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/.