Statistics show an increase in burglaries, motor vehicle incidents, and other crimes against people, property, and society since 2020.

At Tuesday night’s Select Board meeting, Chief Ruben Quesada reviewed crime data from the past year and shared current department statistics. He provided a “high-level overview” of National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Part A crimes, which include offenses such as rape, assault, embezzlement, prostitution, gambling, drug violations, and arson.

“If you look at the overall numbers, our property crimes are on the rise,” Quesada said. “That tells us as the police department, as the chief, that we need to start being more proactive in addressing burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, larcenies. That’s just something that we need to be cognizant of.”

The chart Quesada presented highlighted a few of the Part A crimes:

That said, call volume has decreased:

• 2016 with 20,223 calls
• 2017 with 21,927 calls
• 2018 with 22,771 calls
• 2019 with 24,479 calls
• 2020 with 25,324 calls
• 2021 with 20,879 calls
• 2022 with 19,864 calls
• 2023 with 17,221 calls
• 2024 with 17,981 calls

Quesada’s presentation showed peak call volumes between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., and again from 5 to 10 p.m.

Of the 17,981 calls in 2024:

• 287 were 911 calls (with typical response times for any call being five to six minutes, according to Quesada)
• 1,057 were reports written
• 1,891 were motor vehicle stops
• 1,604 citations were written
• 160 traffic accidents were responded to
• 689 parking citations were issued
• 74 animal calls were responded to
• 157 arrests were made
• Approximately 15,000 non-emergency business line calls were made
• Approximately 7,000 walk-in requests, or 130 per week, were made

In addition, officers were present at 132 community engagement events, meetings and forums in 2024.

“To me, that is one of the most important things that we can do,” Quesada said. “I would like to double that if I could.”

At the time of his presentation, the department had five vacancies and two officers on extended leave. A lateral officer was hired and will start on August 18, while a conditional employment offer was given to a new applicant.

“That leaves us with three vacancies,” Quesada said. “With the lateral officer, that individual will help us make an impact on the street because we are short staffed right now.”

Since 2019, 19 positions have become vacant due to retirements or transfers to other departments. In the same time, 14 positions have been filled, including with Quesada’s own hire in 2022. 

It is already known that one officer will retire this upcoming January. Quesada said there is the chance of up to three other officers who will “probably leave in another year, year and a half.” This is in addition to officers who may be lost to other towns’ departments.

Each shift typically has four officers on duty, but that number increases to five on summer weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day due to the seasonal influx of traffic and beachgoers. Quesada also noted that traffic safety has been “probably our top one or two priority at the police department.”

At the same time, there has been a decrease in staffing over the years within the department.

“We have decreased our staffing levels since 2022, where we have 25% less officers working,” Quesada said. “That is in effect to become more efficient as well as we’re trying to get the goldilocks, meet at the right sweet spot.”

During the Select Board meeting, the question was raised about whether staffing should be increased or remain the same, but Select Board Member Danielle Leonard described the department as “second to none.”

“You guys are always so quick to act professionally and just handle things with the residents,” Leonard said.

Select Board Chair Katie Phelan also reiterated Leonard’s sentiment.

“Having you guys be proactive in our community, reduces calls, reduces anxiety when calls come, reduces tension in the air when you have to be there. You get put in the worst situations in town, and you are being proactive to make those situations better before you even get there,” Phelan said. “The fact that you can walk up to a troublesome situation and see an officer that you know, it immediately changes the tenure of how you interact. It can’t go unrecognized.”

There are currently only two detectives in the criminal investigations division. In 2024, one of them spent 50% of their time in court to present at arrests and summons.  

The department received 1,160 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requisitions, 90 of which were for body worn camera videos. The Select Board did ask about how to make FOIA responses more streamlined and efficient in the future.

Quesada also noted the accomplishments of his team. In 2024, the department completed the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC) certification “to ensure our police department is up to the best standards in over 178 policies.”

“Everything that we do, we have a policy on,” Quesada said. “That not only decreases the liability for the town, but it also ensures that we are doing everything that any police department is doing in terms of best standards.”