By Brian Fraga
Standard-Times staff writer
August 06, 2007 6:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — No one has been murdered in this city since the Foxy Lady shooting last December, a span of nearly eight months that has helped make 2007 one of the city's safest years in recent memory.
Community activists, neighborhood group leaders and law enforcement officials are crediting a complex set of factors to explain how a city that in 2005 had six homicides by August has now gone more than half a year without a murder.
Public safety partnerships between the New Bedford Police Department and state and federal agencies, outreach programs funded by the state's anti-gang Shannon Grant, as well as Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter's aggressive use of the dangerousness statute to incarcerate defendants charged with gun crimes are mentioned as major variables for reducing the violence, especially gang-related crime.
"We think we have some things that are working, and we're happy about it," Police Chief Ronald E. Teachman said. "But we know we still have a long way to go."
Mayor Scott W. Lang said citizen participation has been the key to reducing the violence, but added the city's crime problems are far from over.
"No one in any way is looking at this, and saying we've won the battle, because we haven't," he said. "It comes down to people wanting to make sure their neighborhoods are safe. But you can't let your guard down for a minute."
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops