Here on the What's New page we will bring you media
releases on things you should know about. We'll present law changes that affect
you. We'll announce upcoming events and programs and keep you informed on what's
changing.Here on the What's New page we will bring you media
releases on things you should know about. We'll present law changes that affect
you. We'll announce upcoming events and programs and keep you informed on what's
changing.
New Officers:
Town Clerk Robert Thornton presides over the recent ceremony during which five new patrolmen were sworn in as Norwood Police Officers. L-R Derek Wennerstrand, Robert Doherty, Christopher Flanagan, Kevin McClay and Joseph Mawn. Officer McClay recently transferred from the Medfield Police Department. Offs. Wennerstrand, Doherty, Flanagan, and Mawn have completed their basic academy and field training and are on full duty. we wish them all many years of success.
During a recent ceremony the Norwood Cultural Council donated impressively framed photographs of the Norwood Police and Norwood Fire memorials for display in the community room. Selectman Jerry Kelleher, photographer Jed Hickson, and Chief Bartley King and the photo of the Norwood Police Association Memorial at Highland Cemetery.
Etched in Stone
During a ceremony on Memorial Day the Town of Norwood received a donation from the Masonic Lodge in the form of a new granite sign for the front of the public safety building.
It is the policy of the Norwood Police Department to provide a safe and hospitable refuge for parents or guardians to abandon qualifying infants at the Police Station in conformity with "The Safe Haven Act" (MGLA Chapter 119, Sec 39 1/2), which went into effect on October 29, 2004. The Safe Haven Act allows for parents and guardians to abandon newborn infants who are no more than seven days old at police stations, hospitals, and manned fire stations. The law further provides that the parents or guardians will not be subject to criminal charges for abandoning the infant in conformity with the law.
To visit the Safe Haven website where you can read the law and find answers to your questions visit www.babysafehaven.com
New Technology to Help Locate Missing Persons At Risk
The
Norwood Police Department announces that a new service is now available which
can make an incredible difference in quickly locating a missing child or other
missing person at risk. The program is called "A Child is Missing."
The program may also be used to help locate a missing elder or other person who
because of Alzheimer's Disease or other disability is at an increased risk.
A call to "A Child is Missing" by the Norwood Police Department will set
in motion the notification, by telephone, to thousands of residences and
businesses in the area. The notification will consist of a description of
the person(s) that is missing, and where and when they were last seen. A
phone number to call to assist the police will be included. We are excited
about the availability of such helpful technology. The first several hours
after a child, elder, or disabled person is reported missing is a critical time.
Visit the program's webpage to read of some of their successes so far.
Click here.
The Norwood Police Department joins the Massachusetts Click It or Ticket Campaign
"This Click It or Ticket mobilization is an effort to reduce the danger we all face from motor vehicle crashes" said Chief King. "In addition to preventing aggressive and impaired driving and speeding, this mobilization will allow us to increase compliance with the Massachusetts safety belt and child passenger safety laws so more people will be protected."
The Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau’s Click It or Ticket Campaign, made possible by a federal highway safety grant, combines traffic enforcement, paid and non-paid media messages, as well as community education and outreach. States that participated in last May’s Click It or Ticket mobilization saw an overall 9% increase in safety belt use. For more information, go to www.mass.gov/ghsb.
"We strongly urge those using Massachusetts roadways during the Thanksgiving Holiday period to drive sober and well-rested, to obey posted speed limits, to allow extra travel time for emergencies, and to make sure everyone is properly buckled up," said Nancy J. Luther, Executive Director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau. "These safe driving practices also need to be followed all year long if we are to reduce the more than 400 fatalities, 91,000 injuries, and $6.3 billion in economic costs from motor vehicle crashes that annually devastate Massachusetts families and our economy."
Chief King provided the following information on safety belts, booster seats and child safety seats:
Safety belts reduce the risk of death or serious injury in a motor vehicle crash by half. Yet a statewide survey conducted by the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau found only 56% of front seat occupants wear safety belts in Massachusetts – compared to 75% belt use nationwide. The lowest usage rate was among teens 16 to 19 years old at 50%.
Massachusetts law required all drivers and passengers to be properly restrained in a safety belt, booster seat or child safety seat. A driver may be stopped if a child 12 years of age or younger is improperly restrained ($25 fine per child).
Children 12 years of age and under, especially those riding in a rear-facing child safety seat, should always ride properly restrained in the back seat away from an air bag.
Children under five AND weighing less than 40 lbs. must ride in a child safety seat. Children five and older AND weighing over 40 pounds must wear a safety belt, though for maximum safety children 40 to 80 pounds should ride in a booster seat. Children over 80 pounds and taller than 4’9" are ready for an adult safety belt.
Substitute Traffic Supervisors Wanted: The Norwood Police Department is seeking candidates to fill in for regular traffic supervisors. Uniforms and training provided. Contact Lieut. Brian Murphy for application.
Phone: 762-6888
Email: bmurphy@norwoodma.gov
Law Change: Firearms must be kept locked or in a locked container.
It always made sense, now it is the law. All firearms, (handguns, rifles, shotguns), must be kept in a locked container or stored with a tamper-resistant mechanical locking device preventing the possibility of discharge. Depending on the type and/or capacity of the weapon, failure to comply with this law could be a misdemeanor or a felony. Penalties range from 1 year in jail and a $500 fine to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine or both.
Clearly, the intent of the law is to prevent the accidental deaths and injuries caused by curious children finding and playing with their parent's or neighbor's firearms. Really, the type or capacity of the firearm is immaterial except for determining the level of the crime and the accompanying punishment. Most of the horror stories related to such tragedies involve a single shot being discharged. Please let this notice be an opportunity to continue or develop proper weapon storage habits.
Further, seize the opportunity to discuss firearms with your children and their friends. Are there guns, perhaps unsecured, in the houses that your children visit?
For gun safety tips click here Gun Safety .
For complete law click here Gun Law .
From time to time area towns have had crimes targeted against elderly citizens. These crimes or attempted crimes have been in the form of "HOME IMPROVEMENT SCAMS." This is the time of year when scam artists go into the "Home Improvement" business. Often, a pick-up truck will stop at the house of an elderly person and tell them that they were working in the neighborhood and noticed that the victim's driveway was in need of repair. Since they were in the area anyway, they would be willing to give the victim a "great deal" on resurfacing the driveway. When the victim agrees, the scam artist will quickly apply a thin layer of coal tar on the driveway surface which will make it look fresh for a couple of days or until it rains. For this "repair," with $30 worth of materials, the scam artist will charge hundreds of dollars. The scam artist, once paid, will quickly disappear. Once the victim becomes aware that they have been scammed, it's too late. There are many variations of these scams including chimney repairs, gutter repairs, roofing repairs as well as other deceptions.
Remember, be suspicious of any deal that is for "Today Only" or if high pressure tactics, a "special Price" if you act today, or if large cash deposits are required in advance. You as a consumer, should get at least two bids for a repair job. Ask for and check out references of prior work.
The Norwood Police Department does not want you to become a "VICTIM!"
Contact the Norwood Police Department at 762-6888 if you have any questions pertaining to "scams" or call the Commonwealth of Mass. Attorney General's Division of Consumer Affairs at (617)727-3200.
Two members of the Norwood Police Department participate on the Metrostar Special Tactics and Response Team. The team is comprised of highly-trained officers from nearly every community in Norfolk County and is administered by the Braintree Police Department.
The team is designed to quell riots and civil disturbances, conduct high-risk raids and entries, perform search and rescue missions, and respond to natural and man-made disasters. Ordinarily, many of these occurrences could overwhelm local law enforcement resources.
Training for the unit takes place monthly and the officers are on call at all times. If the unit is activated, members respond from their usual duties. Team members from Norwood are:
Sgt. Martin F. Baker 
Off. Will Fundora 
