Gallagher: Community Involvement and Traffic Safety Priorities

Chief Paul Gallagher joined us for a live chat Thursday and discussed important public safety issues in town.

Gallagher has been chief for a year now and said his top priorities are engaging the community in keeping the town safe and addressing traffic danger.

What is the most frequent call the department gets?

"Suspicious activity, which we encourage the public to make the call when they see the activity," Gallagher said. "Neighborhood disputes and domestic calls have risen."

House break-ins and car break-ins tend to be on the rise this time of year, and the Neighborhood CrimeWatch program has been a key priority of Gallagher's since it began. And with traffic, there have been several major accidents in town in the past year including a couple fatal accidents. Gallagher plans to keep working on that problem.

There full transcript of the chat

Here are some highlights:

Keeping the Town Safe

DJ: What's with all the car break-ins lately?

Chief Paul Gallagher: This is something that we have experienced for the past few years during the summer months. Often the vehicles have been unlocked or the windows have been left open. We have been educating the public, via the neighborhood watch alerts and the facebook page. additionally we have stepped up proactive patrols in the areas, with assignment of bike officers

Becky: What steps are being taken to keep drugs out of schools?

Chief Paul Gallagher: The school resource officers are assigned to the public schools, and continue to educate the students and school staff, this is done with our two drug recognition officers.

Patch.com: One of your priorities has been enhancing the CrimeWatch program. How is that going?

Chief Paul Gallagher: the neighborhood watch continues to grow every year, we are looking forward to this years National Night Out on 8/7 at the Middle School. We have been promoting block parties with officers working with the neighborhood.

Zack: Do you offer to do house checks when people are away?

Chief Paul Gallagher: If you call the department, when you will be away and provide contact information the sector officer will provide extra check of the area.

Patch.com: How do residents get involved with their neighborhood CrimeWatch?

Chief Paul Gallagher: They can send an email to crimewatch@napd.us we continue to promote this program, so neighbors can look out for their neighbors to work with us to make their neighborhood safer.

Patch.com: How does the Police Department get along with other North Andover Town departments?

Chief Paul Gallagher: The Town Manager has a weekly staff meeting with all of the department heads, for mutual concerns and interaction.

Traffic Danger

DH: How do we go about getting speed limit signs put on our street? it is a major cut through to 114 from Johnson St and many folks drive way too fast, especially since there are kids around.

Chief Paul Gallagher: You can start by making a request through Officer Mark Wilson, mwilson@napd.us, he is the safety officer that will get you the infomation you need. I will have the traffic unit concentrate in that area.

Patch.com: Speaking of speeding, Route 114 between Merrimack College and the Middleton line seems to have a lot of accidents, a couple of them fatal this past year. Is there anything being done to curtail this?

Chief Paul Gallagher: This area has been targeted for more selective enforcement to address the speed and agressive moving violations. We also receive cellular calls that have assisted us in enforcement.

Regional Collaboration

Michelle: The talk around the state is regionalization. Would you every think of regionalizing with Andover?

Chief Paul Gallagher: We already partake in a form, with 50 other surrounding police departments in sharing resources.Currently Andover Police train with our officers in classroom and firearms. If called upon, both departments have similiar policies and practices for mutual aid.

Jesse: How closely do you work with Lawrence Police? It seems like a lot of times you guys jump in when they need help.

Chief Paul Gallagher: Our officers and detectives work closely with LPD frequently in an exchange of information. I am happy Chief Romero's staffing has increased, we generaly assist when the call is close to the town line.

Patch.com: How does the department get along with other departments in the area?

Chief Paul Gallagher: We have a great working relationship with all of our area police departments. Detectives and Chiefs meet monthly with their counterparts.