Danvers Police report steady call volume in 2024, note staffing pressures and accreditation work

Chief Jamie Lovell delivered the Danvers Police Department's quarterly update to the Town of Danvers Select Board, saying the department handled roughly 24,720 calls for service in 2024 and is continuing community-focused programs while facing staffing pressures.

Lovell told the board that officers carried out 2,562 directed patrols and 544 community policing initiatives last year. The department made 198 arrests, issued 206 criminal summonses, and handled 2,225 medical-aid calls. Lovell also reported 1,163 motor-vehicle crashes in 2024, including 191 hit-and-runs and 185 that produced injuries. Shoplifting was a frequent larceny category (290 incidents), and the department recorded 35 stolen motor vehicles.

The chief said staffing remains tight: the department lists 47 sworn positions and had two vacancies due to retirements, three recruits in academy training, one officer deployed overseas and three officers on long-term sick leave. Lovell said one recruit class starts March 3, 2025, and three recruits will graduate from Lynnfield Police Academy on Feb. 28; field training would follow. The department is also completing a civil-service promotional process for sergeant and lieutenant ranks.

Lovell outlined ongoing accreditation work. Danvers maintains accreditation through CALEA and completed a third-year review of standards; the department must meet 398 standards (330 mandatory) and expects a final on-site review in April and a commission reaccreditation hearing in March 2026.

Facility and equipment needs were also raised. Lovell described a feasibility study with Gene App Architects and DPW to modernize the station's booking room, cell block and evidence/property storage; the department hopes to add the project to the town's capital list. He also described an in-progress 5-megawatt battery project at the former Ferncroft substation (owned by a private operator) intended to reduce peak transmission costs and produce shared savings for the town.

On community engagement, Lovell highlighted safety programs including partnership with Boston Children's Hospital on bike-safety tokens, a bike-safety curriculum with MassDOT and the schools, a food drive with Danvers People to People, a pumpkin-painting family event, and an annual toy drive coordinated with Danvers Public Schools social workers. He recommended quarterly follow-ups to the Select Board and proposed dates for the next updates: March 18, June 17 and Sept. 16, 2025.

Select Board members asked about daily presence in the downtown square, traffic enforcement resources, the possibility of a dedicated traffic car or traffic division, and detective staffing. Lovell said patrol coverage in the square is prioritized on warm and early-release days but depends on call volume; Danvers does not currently operate a dedicated traffic car but said such a position would be beneficial.

During public comment, residents urged more officers and stronger traffic enforcement in the center of town. Chief Lovell invited residents with specific fraud or fraud-related cases to share details by email so the department and Essex County District Attorney's Office could follow up.

The department also fielded questions about use of the training room for public meetings and about dispatch staffing; Lovell said the training room seats about 46'48 people and is schedulable through his executive assistant, Lynn DuLong, and that the station typically staffs two dispatchers per shift (one handling police, one handling fire/EMS).