From JRossetti at somervillema.gov Tue Dec 8 10:00:09 2009 From: JRossetti at somervillema.gov (Jaclyn Rossetti) Date: Tue Dec 8 06:21:56 2009 Subject: [Youngsomervilleresistat] Young Somerville Advsiory Group: Newsletter Message-ID: <05E737CD9BF1C7479D7F1A4A881272EB03FEF101@exchange.somerville.ma.us> Good Afternoon Everyone, Below, please find the Young Somerville Advisory Group's fall newsletter. The newsletter contains information about the group's latest meetings, recommendations presented to Mayor Curtatone and City officials, and much more. Additionally, here are some interesting links to important information from the City, and two stories written in local newspapers after YSAG's November event! - Traffic & Parking Offers Extended Hours Leading Up To Resident Permit Parking Enforcement - Reminder of City's Snow Regulations for Winter 2009-10 - Somerville News story on YSAG event - Boston Globe story on YSAG event Jackie Rossetti Deputy Director of Communications City of Somerville 93 Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02143 (tel): 617-625-6600 x2614 (fax): 617-625-3434 www.somervillema.gov In this issue Meeting Summary Video Monitors License Plate Readers Marijuana Law Enforcement Deputy Fire Chief St. Clair YSAG Feedback YSAG Recommendations Recommendations to the Mayor YSAG Membership Drive Young Somerville Advisory Group (YSAG) Overview A group of 21-35 year old Somerville residents working to increase the number of young residents engaged in our civic community, improve the quality of City services offered and increase communication between City government and the young adults that live here. Our goal is to serve in an advisory capacity to the Mayor and City staff, initiate and organize activities targeted to our age demographic, and advocate on behalf of fellow Young Somerville residents. These newsletters are intended to inform you about local resources, City goings-on, and YSAG activities. For more information Somerville Fire Department Somerville Police Department Click here to learn more about the Young Somerville Advisory Group, or to make suggestions and give input about future topics. To contact the Young Somerville Advisory Group send emails to contact Jackie Rosetti at Jrossetti@somervillema.gov . ^back to top Meeting Summary At the September YSAG meeting, YSAG was pleased to speak with Somerville Police Chief Anthony Holloway and Deputy Fire Chief Pete St. Clair. YSAG spoke with the chiefs about ongoing public safety issues in Somerville and new initiatives by the City. Police Chief Holloway: Chief Holloway has 18 years of experience in community law enforcement, now supervising 130 officers in Somerville. Since his appointment, he has reshaped the Somerville Police Department. Officers are required to spend at least 1 year in an assigned ward to allow them to get to know the community. Crime has dropped 22% over the last year and 80% of cases ended in arrest. Initiatives to note: Somerville Video Monitors * Video monitors are in locations across Somerville and have been responsible for a number of arrests in the last year as well as a deterrence effect. * Video from the monitors is only viewed when an incident is reported. All viewing is logged and anytime the Zoom function is used the Chief is notified of who used it and why. All usages are reported to Alderman on a regular basis. ^back to top Somerville License Plate Readers * Plate readers are mounted on two police cruisers and can check license plates at about 30-40 plates/second. Plate numbers are stored in the cruiser and are erased regularly, only viewable by patrol officer when a violation is identified. Readers have yielded 70 uninsured vehicles and 40 arrests this year. ^back to top Marijuana Law Enforcement * The Chief finds that the law is unenforceable as it is currently written. People found possessing small amounts of marijuana are not required to produce identification and commonly tickets for offense are issued to "John Doe." Many tickets never get paid, and police have no means to follow up without names. * The Chief is a member of a commission to evaluate enforcement of the new law and how enforcement may be improved. ^back to top Deputy Chief St. Clair Chief St. Clair has been with Somerville Fire Department for 32 years in which time the department has roughly shrank in half, mostly due to a huge reduction in fires. The worst period for fires was in the late 1970's, especially with car burnings where people would collect insurance after cars were burned. * Better enforcement of fire regulations and better economic times led to a large decrease in fires. * The current response time for emergencies is roughly 3 minutes anywhere in the city. * Most emergency calls are medical or "good intention" calls where the caller genuinely believes there is a danger that turns out to be benign. ^back to top YSAG Feedback YSAG Members raised privacy concerns about both the video monitors and license plate readers. Chief Holloway assured the group that the programs had strict oversight from his office as well as by the Mayor and the Board of Alderman. Members asked about ongoing police priorities. Chief Holloway is particularly interested in solving youth violence problems, and is forming a youth advisory committee with Somerville High School students. In addition, the Police Department is constantly evaluating trouble areas and trying to improve things such as lighting for increased safety. Community policing is an ongoing focus of the PD. The Beat Cop program has been a large success, with one Beat Cop assigned to patrol each ward of the City. Beat Cops are responsible for getting to know and engaging their wards as they walk about on duty. Concerns were raised about the effect of Tufts University on the Fire Department. The FD responds to numerous calls on campus every week, especially during warmer weather for medical calls. Tufts University does not pay for any of the services as a non-taxable institution. ^back to top Recommendations Work with Tufts to reduce the burden on Somerville emergency services caused by Tufts student activities and partying. Continue to improve community-policing efforts through programs like the Beat Cop Program. ^back to top YSAG Presents Recommendations to the Mayor Young Somerville Advisory Group held a successful event on Monday, November 16th at the Center for the Arts at the Armory. At this event, YSAG presented its formal recommendations for the city to the mayor of Somerville, Joe Curatone and the people in attendance. Many young Somerville residents, nonprofits and local officials attended the group's first annual presentation of recommendations to the City. Mayor Curtatone also took time out to speak about the report and answer questions. Thank you to everyone who attended and made suggestions! To read more, please check out the Somerville News article about the event. ^back to top YSAG Membership Drive Young Somerville Advisory Group has several openings for new members to get involved with the group. Membership vacancies will be filled on a rolling basis, so visit our site now and get your application in today! YSAG also started a Facebook page as a gathering place for Young Somerville residents. Check it out and get updates at by clicking here. ^back to top -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.somerville.ma.us/pipermail/youngsomervilleresistat/attachments/20091208/b53b7871/attachment-0001.html