Audio of Interview with Chief Fitzpatrick
(9-24-15) Acting Lawrence Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick was sworn in as permanent chief by Mayor Dan Rivera Thursday night at the Fire Fighters Relief In.
Chief Fitzpatrick told The Valley Patriot in a live internet broadcast of the event that his first plan of attack to handle crime in Lawrence was to work with the community.
“I think we’re going to rely on the community, community engagement, working on their priorities and that’s where were going to get our guidance from.”
Asked if the chief had a plan to to focus on the crimes that are going up in Lawrence while keeping the momentum of the crime that is going down, he said his focus will be on property crimes.
“First and foremost we are going to focus on those areas where there is a lot of property crime in the smaller neighborhoods. Some of the neighborhoods that don’t have strong community size, the plan is to get into those neighborhoods and try to build some community partnerships with not only themselves, but with the Lawrence Police Department to ensure that they trust that we can provide the services if they need them.”
Asked about Methuen’s regular use of Narcan and Lawrence’s failure to do so, the chief said he is applying for a Grant but had some reservations.
“We are exploring right now. We are applying for a grant for Narcan but my trepidation with that was, that they were only going to provide materials and not training for the officers, which I think is most important. These offices are tasked with many things that they are responsible for. So, I think that is important to make sure that they are fully trained on how to use it before we give it to them.”