As Chief of Police, I fully support the North Reading Police Community Impact Team. Since January of 2012, members of our department have partnered with the Town of North Reading Youth Services, School Department, Parks and Recreation and the North Reading Board of Selectmen, in an effort to build a safer community. Community members working together works!
We value safety, healthy living and a drug free community. A community wide response is proven to be one of the best strategies to help minimize the overall and social impacts of substance abuse. We’ve dedicated our combined efforts and resources toward combating the social and economic problems associated with substance abuse. Our focus is on the prevention and early intervention of illicit drug use. The success of these efforts will help protect our youth and improve the overall quality of life in our community.
What works and what we are doing. We know that success has been seen in communities where coalitions such as ours exist. The Community Impact Team will utilize a comprehensive approach to address quality of life issues by adopting strategies which include:
- Drug Awareness Seminars;
- Referral services;
- Drug and crime tip reporting (text and phone);
- Informative and up-to-date social networking sites;
- Distribution of educational brochures;
- Community meetings;
- Legislative advocacy;
- Public service announcements through NORCAM, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
- Establishing new standards of open communication with the community.
The North Reading Police Community Impact Team is dedicated to ensuring a safe and healthy community for all of us. Please visit our Facebook page to learn more about the Community Impact Team, its mission and our current efforts.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Zimmerman Chief of Police
