Plymouth County Outreach to Receive National Community Policing Award

PCO to be Honored by International Association of Chiefs of Police

EAST BRIDGEWATER — East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen and Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri are pleased to announce that they – along with the other 26 Plymouth County police chiefs, District Attorney Timothy Cruz and Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald – will be honored next month as the recipients of a national community policing award on behalf of Plymouth County Outreach (PCO).

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Leadership in Community Policing Award will be presented at the 2018 IACP Annual Conference and Exposition on Oct. 9, in Orlando, Florida.

“We are extremely honored to be recognized for our collaborative efforts in helping to bring awareness and resources to those suffering from substance use disorders in our region,” Chief Allen said. “Our nearly 500,000 residents know that wherever they are in Plymouth County, they will find a team of compassionate and caring law enforcement officers, healthcare and recovery specialists and community leaders who are looking to offer assistance and support to those struggling with opioid use, as well as their family members and loved ones.”

Plymouth County Outreach is an opioid prevention and recovery coalition made up of 27 municipal police departments in Plymouth County, along with the Bridgewater State University Police. The chiefs have partnered with the offices of DA Cruz and Sheriff McDonald to take a multi-jurisdictional approach to dealing with the opioid epidemic.

PCO has also partnered with healthcare, treatment and recovery agencies, local coalitions, faith-based organizations and the five hospitals that serve the county.

“The fact that all of these professional partners from such a large variety of agencies and levels of care are engaging in this healthcare model truly shows that PCO is a community solution to a community problem,” Chief Botieri said.

PCO has a Chiefs Advisory Board that includes Brockton Signature Healthcare’s Dr. Daniel Muse, South Shore Hospital’s Dr. Jason Tracy and Timothy Quigley, Plymouth Public Health Director Dr. Nathaniel Horowitz-Willis and Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth’s Dr. Alejandro Dan Mendoza.

Chiefs Botieri and Allen, national law enforcement council members with P.A.A.R.I. (Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative) are co-chairpersons for District Attorney Timothy Cruz and Sheriff Joseph McDonald’s Plymouth County Drug Task Force. The chiefs have been selected along with members of PCO’s leadership team to provide mandatory training for all Massachusetts Police Chiefs at next week’s Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association’s Fall Training Conference.

In additoin, Chiefs Botieri and Allen have also been invited to present at these upcoming national conferences:

• US-Canadian Border Health Initiative at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
• National Institute of Justice’s Police Executive Research Forum on Promising Practices of America’s Opioid Crisis for PAARI in Washington, D.C.
• New England Summit for Clinical Excellence, Strategies for Treatment and Recovery in Bedford
• National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Conference, in Cleveland, Ohio

IACP honors law enforcement agencies and officers that exhibit leadership,
excellence, and professionalism through its annual Leadership Awards Program.
PCO was nominated for the award earlier this year and was chosen as the
winner out of a group of applicants from across the country.

About Plymouth County Outreach: Plymouth County Outreach is a collaborative of police departments throughout Plymouth County led by the following chiefs: Abington Chief David Majenski, Bridgewater Chief Christopher Delmonte, Bridgewater State University Chief David Tillinghast, Brockton Chief John Crowley, Brockton Police Lt. Richard Linehan, Carver Chief Marc Duphily, Duxbury Chief Matthew Clancy, East Bridgewater Chief Scott Allen, Halifax Chief Ted Broderick, Hanover Chief Walter Sweeney, Hanson Chief Michael Miksch, Hingham Chief Glenn Olsson, Hull Chief John Dunn, Kingston Chief Maurice Splaine, Lakeville Chief Frank Alvihiera, Marion Chief John Garcia, Marshfield Chief Phillip Tavares, Mattapoisett Chief Mary Lyons, Middleboro Chief Joseph Perkins, Norwell Chief Ted Ross, Pembroke Chief Richard Wall, Plymouth Chief Michael Botieri, Plympton Chief Patrick Dillon, Rochester Chief Robert Small, Rockland Chief John Llewellyn, Scituate Chief Michael Stewart, Wareham Chief John Walcek, West Bridgewater Chief Victor Flaherty and Whitman Chief Scott D. Benton.