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BELFAST POLICE DEPARTMENT Calendar year 2002 was another extremely busy year for the police department. The department recorded a total of 8,138 calls for service for the year. We began the year by policing the Fifth Annual Belfast by the Bay Festival, which was once again a huge success that required very little involvement by the police department other than to provide informational services. For the third year in a row the City hosted the annual American Lung Association Trek Across Maine with the police department guiding over 1,200 cyclists safely though the downtown to the finish line at the Belfast Boathouse. With the continued increase in traffic through the city, the major concern by most citizens revolved around the area of speed enforcement. The department addressed this concern through designated radar details and utilizing the new mobile radar speed display board. Even with an increase in traffic the city saw fewer traffic crashes. In January the police department became part of a multi-agency task force that was formed to combat the increase in drug activity, especially in that dealing with the sale and use of heroin. This task force was comprised of members of the police department, Waldo County Sheriff’s Department, Maine State Police and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. In May, as a direct result of this task force, search warrants were executed simultaneously in Northport and Brooks with nearly 1,700 bags of Red Devil heroin and a pound of cocaine with a street value of $100,000 being seized. The investigation would become know as “Operation Red Devil” and would lead to the arrest 10 individuals from Maine to Massachusetts and be recorded as one of the largest drug heroin drug busts in the State of Maine. As a result of the increase in drug activity in the Belfast area the department applied for and was awarded a grant under the COPS Universal Hiring Program to fund an additional officer so that an officer could be dedicated primarily to drug enforcement. The following
areas that have shown significant or noteworthy changes over the
past year are listed for review:
Burglary 26 32 +19 % As always, we look forward to continuing to serve the people of Belfast as well as the many visitors to our community. We thank the City and its citizens for their continued support of the department and trust you will help us develop and improve our ability to serve you in the coming year. Respectfully Submitted, Allen A.
Weaver, Sr. |
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