Above: A look at some of the recent news, stats, and tips shared by the SPD. (images cropped from Facebook posts)
The Southborough Police Department shared a feelgood story this week about a special staff mentorship.
While l’m sharing that, I’m looking back to share some of the other news they posted on Facebook over the past few months. That includes safety tips, statistics on what officers have been working on this year, and other news.
Staff highlights
The feelgood story highlights that Southborough’s police force now includes a father-son duo. (This is hardly the first time the SPD has had family members serving together. But I believe it is much less common these days than in the town’s history.) On Monday, the SPD posted to Facebook:
Today marks a special moment for the Southborough Police Department, the DeLuca family, and our Southborough community.
Sgt. Jim DeLuca and Probationary Police Officer Joe DeLuca are working their first Father/Son shift together; sharing not only the same profession, but the same commitment to serving and protecting our Town.
From teaching life lessons at home to now standing side by side in uniform, this full-circle moment is one they’ll never forget. A proud example of dedication, family, and service carrying from one generation to the next.
Wishing them both a safe shift and many great memories ahead.
Last night, the SPD shared photos from the appointment and swearing in of Southborough’s two newest Student Officers (Connor Enberg and Matthew Hebert), about to begin police academy training on June 1st, and hopefully joining the force full time in six months.
In February, the SPD spotlighted their School Resource Officer Brian Collins for this work “above and beyond for students and staff across the district”. Read more about that here.
Over the past few months, posts with photos also highlighted officers helping two young brothers celebrate their birthday, assisting at the Senior Center’s St. Patrick’s Day Party, participating in Finn’s Community Read Day, and visiting the Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast.
Safety Tips & Scam Warnings
Today, the SPD is reminding residents about the Social Host Law that makes them legally liable for enabling underage drinking. (You can read more about that here.)
Last month, they shared news that SPD Detective Anthony Vega joined the Worcester DA’s Outreach team for a scam prevention presentation to seniors in Southborough.
This week, the SPD also shared news about an important free resource for victims and their families that “may feel uncomfortable” with reporting nude or “sexually explicit images or videos” were posted of them as minors:
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) offer a free resource called “Take it Down”. Take It Down helps tech companies remove sexually explicit images or videos depicting children under the age of 18. This resource is for individuals depicted in nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos before they were 18 years old, that they believe were shared online.
The attached handout can be shared, and the process is very simple if the victim chooses to utilize this option. Our officers will have this pamphlet available to pass to residents who have been victimized by this behavior. It is important to note that this feature may not delete or remove an image fully because of hash values.
Earlier this year, the department has also been sharing its own crime prevention tips plus tips from other departments.
Preventing Vehicle break-ins and thefts — A post from early April said that area police were reporting an increase in area Motor Vehicle break-ins. They shared again their safety tips. (There are a lot more than in the photo right. Click here for all of them.)
Targeted theft of Motorcycles & Recreational Vehicles posted on FB Marketplace — According to Grafton Police, the crime is on the rise, fueled by the GPS coordinates embedded in the posted photo. Read more about how to protect yourself here.
Court Enforcement Action notice scam — One of the online scams the SPD shared a warning about was a fake “final notice” warning about an alleged failure to pay a traffic fine with threat of dire legal consequences. You can read about that here.
Policing Statistics
In the first four months of this year, the SPD reported making 123 arrests. They also issued another 194 “criminal summons”. There were 126 vehicle crashes. And they made 1,762 vehicle stops.
Officers also took 483 “incident reports”. You can read more stats below.
Law and Order
For some of the arrests and incidents, the SPD posted press releases. Below are ones that I haven’t previously shared.
Negligent, Vehicular Homicide — In somber news, the SPD shared a press release from the DA following up on the car crash on Route 9 in Southborough this February that killed a Leominster woman.
The alleged wrong-way driver, Abigail Throckmorton of Ashland, was arraigned for “motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation” and other charges related to the incident. According to the release:
Throckmorton was released on personal recognizance with conditions that she not operate a motor vehicle, remain drug and alcohol free with random screenings, and stay in Massachusetts. The case is continued to June 30 for a pretrial conference.
Traffic Stop results in Drug Charges — On March 11th, the SPD arrested a Framingham man for allegedly driving on Boston Road without a license. The Press release states that an inventory of the car before it was towed (and subsequent search of the driver) led to seizing what the SPD described as “856 pills of more than a dozen different medications-including pain relievers, antibiotics, contraceptives and muscle relaxers.”
