Billerica Police | MA

A member of the Billerica Police Auxiliary Unit speaks with a child while patrolling on a bicycle at a community event. (Photo Courtesy Billerica Emergency Management)

BILLERICA – The Massachusetts Volunteer Law Enforcement Officer Association (MA-VLEOA) and the Billerica Police Department would like to recognize the officers of the Billerica Police Department Auxiliary Unit for their years of service to their community as their unit faces an uncertain future.

The auxiliary unit in Billerica has been around for about 45 years, the last 30 of which were under direction of Emergency Management Director Bill Laurendeau and the Billerica Police Department.

The unit has about 20 members. New state regulations put in place by the Massachusetts Police Training Committee as part of police reform efforts have made it difficult or impossible for most of the unit’s members to continue serving in a police role, according to Police Chief Roy Frost and Director Laurendeau.

Director Laurendeau and Chief Frost said Billerica’s auxiliary officers have been invaluable over the years, assisting the town with everything from community events, to large-scale police search efforts for missing or endangered residents, such as Alzheimer’s patients, and even with things as small as shoveling and elderly resident’s driveway so a fuel truck can get in.

Unit members directed traffic at parades, at the annual Yankee Doodle Homecoming and road races, and provided significant assistance with COVID-19 clinics recently.

Chief Frost said the Auxiliary Unit was a tremendous help in 2012, when Billerica Police were investigating a home invasion and homicide in the Pinehurst neighborhood, and needed to search a large section of woods near the scene while looking for a firearm.

“It was full of poison ivy but they still went in and did the search as volunteers. There were about 10 auxiliary officers who spent an entire day going through a pretty large wooded parcel, and it was all free to the Town of Billerica,” Chief Frost said, noting that the investigation led to the conviction of six individuals who were involved in the incident.

Director Laurendeau said more than a dozen members of the Auxiliary Unit meet monthly to train for search and rescue. They also work and train with Billerica K-9 units and other search and rescue teams in the region to keep their skills sharp.

“They regularly go on their own time to training sessions both indoor and outdoor, so that when they arrive at a scene they’re not just bodies being there,” Laurendeau said. “If Billerica asks them to go out and do a grid search, they know what to do and what not to do.”

“They do it all on their own time,” said Chief Frost. “It’s just a service for the Town of Billerica that these guys provide at no cost whatsoever.”

Chief Frost said the Auxiliary Unit also has been a great training tool, enabling police to get to know an auxiliary officer, and for the auxiliary officer to get to know the department before seeking a full-time position.

“We’re having recruitment and retention issues across the state and country,” Frost said. “The Auxiliary Unit is an organic repository of qualified, motivated, tested people that we could recruit from.”

Chief Frost said numerous officers have been hired from the auxiliary ranks. Two officers who are bilingual — one speaks Mandarin and another speaks Spanish — joined the full-time force after serving as auxiliary officers and impressing commanders.

“These kinds of opportunities are invaluable for the police department not only because of the volunteerism, but as a recruitment tool,” Chief Frost said. “We’re really concerned about losing these types of programs, but we have to work within the parameters of the new state regulations.”

MA-VLEOA is fully supportive of additional training requirements for reserve officers that were implemented as a result of the Massachusetts police reform law, but is pushing for the state to make the hands-on training included in the requirements more widely available on nights and weekends to facilitate the needs of reserve officers who have other full-time careers. The organization is also concerned about requirements that reserve officers have at least 2,400 hours of experience with arrest powers by January 2027, because many of the state’s reserve officers do not work enough hours to meet the requirement. If Reserve Officers do not meet that experience requirement, they must attend a full-time police academy under the new regulations. Reserve and auxiliary officer units around the Commonwealth have begun to disband due to the new requirements, and unless changes are made to accommodate volunteer officers many more unit closures are expected, with taxpayers expected to feel a financial impact due to the loss of the volunteer services provided by these units.

“I definitely understand the intent of it and commend the state for putting together a basic level of certification for our day-in, day-out police officers, but there’s also this huge piece that kind of got left to the side — these volunteers who do auxiliary policing,” Chief Frost said. “I wish there was a way to address that in a safe way that also allows these individuals to serve their community.”

Chief Frost and Director Laurendeau said auxiliary officers in Billerica are extremely motivated and willing to undertake whatever training they need, but that they also have other full-time jobs that make it difficult if not impossible to attend the roughly 200 hours of Bridge Academy training that is now required, but in large part only available during weekdays.

“I think the consensus around the state is that everyone is in favor of additional training, but the 2,400 hours is almost impossible for some communities to be able to achieve,” Director Laurendeau said. “A lot of these guys really love the job and would be willing to make any sacrifice they can, but many of them are also young family guys and they just can’t take that much time off work and away from their families.”

Despite those challenges, the service that members of the Auxiliary Unit have provided to Billerica make both Chief Frost and Director Laurendeau hopeful that a solution can be found so that dedicated community members can still contribute.

“We’re not giving up on it,” Chief Frost said. “We’re hoping the Legislature will consider relaxing some of the hours requirements for certification of part-time officers and that they figure out a modified certification standard for people who work in this capacity.”

The Massachusetts Volunteer Law Enforcement Officer Association continues to call for the MPTC to make in-person training for reserve police officers available at more flexible times and locations, so that officers with full-time careers can schedule the training they are required to receive, and for the MPTC and other stakeholders to reconsider the number and type of required hours of experience needed to be trained and certified as a reserve officer.

“Auxiliary and Reserve Police Officers all over the Commonwealth have provided competent and dedicated volunteer service for decades, and the Billerica Auxiliary Unit is a great example of that,” said President Spigel. “We agree that all law enforcement officers must be rigorously trained for the duties that they are asked to perform, and we hope the MPTC and other stakeholders will work with us to find a way forward for these dedicated public servants and all others like them.”

To learn more about the Massachusetts Volunteer Law Enforcement Officer Association, click here.

Officer Sean Caron of the Tyngsborough Police Department speaks with a staff member from the Front Line Initiative, who is role-playing as an individual experiencing a mental health crisis. Crisis Intervention Training was provided to members of the Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Lowell, Pepperell and Tewksbury police departments. (Photo Courtesy Front Line Initiative)

CHELMSFORD — The Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Pepperell, Tewksbury and Tyngsborough Police Departments report that officers from each of their departments, as well as Officers from the Lowell Police Department, received 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Training from the Front Line Initiative.

A total of 35 officers from the seven participating departments completed 40 hours of intensive informational and practical training held at the Chelmsford Police Department over five days this month. Participating officers and supervisors were awarded graduation certificates from the Front Line Initiative Middlesex Crisis Intervention Team’s Training & Technical Assistance Center upon completing the course.

Crisis Intervention Team training provided by Front Line aims to provide law enforcement officers with the skills and knowledge necessary to respond to calls of individuals who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The CIT training focuses on mental health-related crises. Officers are exposed to experts in the field who provide in-depth training on a variety of topics related to mental health.

“The goal of the training is to improve the outcomes of encounters individuals experiencing crisis have with law enforcement,” said Executive Director Matthew Page-Shelton. “An additional focus of the training is to equip law enforcement with knowledge of the resources in the community with a goal of ensuring individuals have greater likelihood of receiving mental health services after an encounter with law enforcement.”

The training is funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, which recognized the success of a pilot program that was conducted in 2021, and asked the Front Line Initiative to form the Middlesex Crisis Intervention Team’s Training & Technical Assistance Center. The purpose of the center is to provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies throughout Middlesex County. Program leaders intend to eventually offer CIT training to all police departments in the Commonwealth’s most populous county.

On Wednesday, officers took part in scenarios with members of the Front Line Middlesex County CIT program, who role-played individuals in crisis as officers worked to start and maintain constructive conversations to de-escalate the situations.

“As first responders, today’s police officers are on the front lines of our nation’s mental health crisis, and are often the first to arrive when individuals find themselves in crisis,” Chiefs Columbus, Spinney, Frost, Howe, Bartlett, and Scott said in a joint statement. “This training is critical for modern law enforcement officers, and we are all proud to be leaders in the effort to improve outcomes for those who face mental health challenges.”

“This program stands as a model for collaboration between law-enforcement and mental health professionals,” said Chief Howe. “This amazing program fulfills the need for co-response in situations where officers are dealing with people who have mental health and substance abuse challenges, and it has proven to be an invaluable resource.”

To access services provided by the Front Line Initiative, please call the Clinical Support Team at 978-215-9642. The service is accessible 24/7. In case of an emergency, please call 911.

To access a variety of behavioral health and substance use disorder resources compiled by the Front Line Initiative online in partnership with Credible Mind, click here.

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Front Line Initiative Executive Director Matthew Page-Shelton, at left, speaks to law enforcement officers from Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Lowell, Pepperell, Tewksbury and Tyngsborough police departments during Crisis Intervention Team training held at the Chelmsford Police Depatment. (Photo Courtesy Front Line Initiative)

From left, Front Line Initiative Executive Director Matthew Page-Shelton, Officer Jennifer Welch of the Tewksbury Police Department, Officer Justin Guanci of the Billerica Police Department and Officer Brian Richard of the Chelmsford Police Department, discuss how a role-play session involving an individual in crisis went during Crisis Intervention Team training. (Photo Courtesy Front Line Initiative)

Participants in Crisis Intervention Team training receive certificates of graduation after completing the 40-hour training program. (Photo Courtesy Front Line Initiative)

Officer Sean Caron of the Tyngsborough Police Department and Officer Brandon Reedy of the Chelmsford Police Department participate in a role-playing exercise with a staff member from the Front Line Initiative during Crisis Intervention Team training. (Photo Courtesy Front Line Initiative)

Officer Sean Caron of the Tyngsborough Police Department speaks to a Front Line Initiative staff member who is role-playing an individual in crisis during Crisis Intervention Team training. (Photo Courtesy Front Line Initiative)

Please join us for “Coffee with a Cop”, a national initiative focused on improving police/community relations through common ground. Spend a few minutes with your local patrol officers and enjoy a hot cup of coffee on us at Panera Bread Billerica on Thursday, February 24th from 7am to 9am.