Keeping You Informed

The Amherst Police Department wants to make it easy for you to stay up-to-date on our activity and programs, as well as all of the other information that we post, by offering RSS feeds to our blog. RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication.' In order to use it, it's just a matter of subscribing to the feed with your web browser or newsreader. Subscribing to the feed will enable your web browser to check our blog for newly posted and updated information. Internet Explorer and Firefox (two of the most common browsers) have direct links for you to add a RSS feed. If an older browser doesn't understand the RSS feed, you may need to use a newsreader or aggregator. There are many free readers available. News on Feeds has a list of many readers on their site.

To subscribe using your newsreader, select the option that adds a new feed or channel, and then paste in the URL of our feed. The URL for the Amherst Police Department Blog Feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/AmherstPoliceDepartmentBlog. You can also use the RSS link below our disclaimer.

Officers Awarded

It is the Amherst Police Department's pleasure to announce that five Officers have been awarded with Letters of Commendation, our department's highest honor. Sergeant Pronovost, Sergeant Daly, Officer Newcomb, Officer Rhoades and Detective Ting were presented with Letters of Commendation on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008, in recognition for their combined efforts, response, and actions at the Emerson Court gas explosion and fire which occurred on August 16th, 2006. These officers immediately responded to a reported explosion at Emerson Court and, under extraordinary circumstances and conditions, rendered medical attention to the residents where the explosion occurred. These officers displayed valor and courage in their actions on that date, going above and beyond the normal call of duty.

R.A.D. Class Being Offered!

The Amherst Police Department will be hosting a Rape Aggression Defense self-defense course for women. This class is made possible through funding from the Executive Office of Public Safety Community Policing grant. The R.A.D. System is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for women. It is a comprehensive, women-only course that teaches awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance. While R.A.D. is not a martial arts program, the curriculum includes teaching basic hands-on defense training. The course is taught by Amherst Police Department Officers Jesus Arocho and Megan Attesi who are nationally certified R.A.D. Instructors. R.A.D. is for women of all ages, and it is open to women from other communities.

.

The class will be held in the Amherst Police Department Community Room from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning on Monday, February 25th. The four-week class ends on Monday, March 17th. Space is limited and demand is high, therefore all interested participants must pre-register by calling The Amherst Police Department Records Bureau 413-259-3016 by February 15th, 2008. For more information email Officer Megan Attesi at attesim@amherstma.gov.

Sex Offender Community Notification

Pursuant to M.G.L C.6, S.S. 178C-178P, David Fisher, the individual who appears on this notification, has been designated a Level 3 Sex Offender by the Sex Offender Registry Board. The Board has determined that Fisher is at a high risk to re-offend and that the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a substantial public safety interest is served by active community notification. This individual is NOT wanted by the police.

David Fisher, who lists his home address as 500K Riverglade Drive, Amherst, MA, and his work address as 506 Pleasant Street, Northampton, MA, is a 32-year-old white male, 6’ 04", 220 lbs, brown eyes, brown hair. On April 25, 2007, Fisher was convicted of the offense of Indecent Assault and Battery.


Sex Offender Registry information shall not be used to commit a crime or to engage in illegal discrimination or harassment of an offender. Any person who uses information disclosed pursuant to M.G.L. C. 6, S.S. 178c-178P for such purposes shall be punished by not more than 2 1/2 years in a house of correction or by a fine of not more than $1,000 or both (M.G.L. C 6 S.S. 178N). In addition, any person who uses registry information to threaten to commit a crime may be punished by a fine of not more than $100 or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months (M.G.L. C. 275 S.S. 4).

Child ID Kits at Winter Fest 2008

The Amherst Police Department is pleased to be a part of the 2008 Chamber of Commerce Amherst Winter Fest. There will be many fun and exciting events for children, and Officers will be on-hand to provide free Child ID kits for our young citizens. The Child ID kits are useful packets that contain identifying information for children including their fingerprints and photographs. For more information, and for a day of excitement and fun, please stop by and speak with our Officers.

Weekend Activity

Over the weekend, Amherst officers responded to 185 calls for service and criminally charged or arrested 7 people. The primary offenses of those charged include:

2 for Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol
3 for Domestic Assault and Battery (1 person was transported to Hadley PD)
1 for Violation of the Town's Noise By-Law
1 for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

Incidents include 1 report of Breaking and Entering to a North Amherst residence and 2 reports of Larceny Under $250.

During yesterday's storm there were only 5 motor vehicle crashes. This is partly due to the fact that many schools and business were either closed or had late openings.

Is your home's number visible?

It's not something a person wants to think about, but what if an emergency were to occur at your house and the police, an ambulance, or a fire truck needed to get to you in a hurry? In Amherst, believe it or not, every house on the street doesn't always have its number visible. There are many examples of homes with numbers that are out of sight or that are difficult to read from the street.

To help homes be more visible, the Amherst SALT Council (Seniors and Law Enforcement Together), with the Amherst Police and Fire Departments, provides a two-sided sign that displays your house's number in 4-inch highly reflective numbers. The numbers are attached to a 5-foot high metal stake which is installed near your driveway or walkway where it is visible from the street.

.

The Amherst SALT Council already has a list of requests to install these signs once the ground thaws, so don’t wait to call and schedule yours! There is a nominal charge ($5.00) to help cover expenses and to keep the program going. Additional voluntary contributions are greatly appreciated.

.

To reach the Amherst SALT Council either visit the Senior Center at The Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst, MA 01002 or call (413) 259-3060.

This Year's Activity

How did we fare this year compared to others?

Calendar year 2007:
18,142 calls for service and 1,371 persons criminally charged or taken into custody.

Calendar year 2006:
17,582 calls for service and 1,339 persons criminally charged or taken into custody.

Calendar year 2005:
16,732 calls for service and 1,117 persons criminally charged or taken into custody.

A much more extensive review of our call volume is done on a fiscal year basis (from July 01 to June 30). To see our fiscal year 2007 report, please visit the Annual Town Reports section of our website.