Police Chief Lovell provided a quarterly update to the Town of Danvers Select Board on March 18, detailing an active armed-robbery investigation, crime statistics, staffing and training, and a review of the town's dispatch center.

The chief said the armed robbery at a CVS on Jan. 8 remains an active investigation led by the Danvers Police Department with assistance from Massachusetts State Police and the FBI violent fugitive task force. He explained why video evidence was released to the public on Feb. 18 after law enforcement attempts to identify suspects internally had not produced leads.

Crime and workload figures (Jan. 1–March 13): the chief reported 51 arrests, 47 summonses, 9 criminal hearings requested, 9 warrant applications, 2 protective custodies and 4,755 calls for service. In the same period the department reported 192 accidents and 67 accident reports submitted by officers. Top call locations included the Recovery Center of America (66 calls), Target (majority shoplifting) and Liberty Tree Mall (58 calls). Traffic enforcement activity included 295 selective enforcement actions, 549 traffic stops and 309 citations issued; top violations cited were speeding (102 citations), crosswalk violations (72) and stop sign/traffic light violations (41).

On staffing, the department reported one vacant officer position plus one additional position requested in the budget, one officer currently in the academy (expected to graduate in July), three officers in field training, three on long-term medical leave, one officer injured on duty and one officer deployed overseas. The dispatch center staffing and operations were reviewed in depth: FY25 combined budget for the communication center was $829,426, and the town received $154,272 in state 911 grant funding. The chief emphasized local control and familiarity advantages of keeping the town dispatch center rather than moving to a regional center, and cited differences in answer times and turnover in regional centers.

Training: The chief summarized the year’s mandatory training (approximately 44 hours per officer) including legal updates, use of force, crowd management, CPR/first responder, TASER training and firearms. The department also relies on specialized training such as 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for many officers.

Grants: Over the past three fiscal years the police department secured $724,824 in grants, including traffic enforcement grants, a 911 grant and diversion funding that supports a clinician embedded with the department. The chief and board noted concern about potential state budget reductions to mental health grant funding that supports the department’s clinician.

Questions from board members addressed officer injuries, outreach programs such as free youth flag football and school internships, and local traffic enforcement. No formal action was taken; the update was informational and board members thanked the chief for the presentation.