Executive Order

Executive Order  No. 394: Massachusetts Neighborhood Crime Watch Commission

Date: 02/21/1997
Issuer: William F. Weld
Mass Register: No. 812
Superseding: Executive Order 342

Table of Contents

WHEREAS, the neighborhoods of the Commonwealth continue to experience an increased level of violence caused by the unlawful sale and use of drugs and guns, destroying the lives of our youth and their families; and

WHEREAS, a coordinated effort combining neighborhood crime watch groups, local law enforcement departments and technical assistance advisors will promote law enforcement at the street level reducing the presence of drugs and the incidents of violent crime in the neighborhoods of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the most effective and lasting strategies to reduce the proliferation of drugs and violence in the community must come from the community itself and must include a focus on neighborhood development and revitalization, support for existing youth facilities and programs, the establishment of safe spaces for youth who are not involved in criminal activity, and other strategies which provide alternatives to involvement in drugs and crime;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, William F. Weld, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Supreme Executive Magistrate, do hereby order the following:

1. There is hereby created a volunteer office to be known as the Massachusetts Neighborhood Crime Watch Commission. It shall be the purpose of this Commission to develop and help implement crime watch policies and programs in the Commonwealth, with an emphasis on neighborhood grassroots, outreach programs.

2. The Massachusetts Crime Watch Commission shall, for administrative and fiscal purposes, be a subdivision of the Department of Housing and Community Development.

3. The Governor, upon the recommendation of the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, shall appoint up to twenty-five members for the Commission and shall designate a chair and a vice chair. The membership shall include a proportionate number of representatives of local and state law enforcement departments and representatives of community watch groups from throughout the Commonwealth. The Commission shall have the authority to create subcommittees, as needed, to fulfill its purposes. The members of said subcommittees need not be limited to persons appointed to the Commission.

4. The purposes and functions of the Commission shall include:

a. Advising the Governor, the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Executive Office of Public Safety on the development and support of crime watch groups and strategies at the neighborhood level;

b. Helping to foster strong ties between community residents and law enforcement agencies;

c. Assisting in the development of a statewide network of community policing efforts and the development of training capabilities to support and strengthen these efforts; and

d. Providing a forum in which the Commonwealth's community crime watch groups and law enforcement officers can develop a comprehensive, statewide criminal justice strategy aimed at making our neighborhoods safe and present this strategy to the Governor and other appropriate officials in the Commonwealth.

This Executive Order shall continue in effect until amended, suspended or terminated by a subsequent Executive Order.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this 21st day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven.

William F. Weld, Governor
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth

Contact   for No. 394: Massachusetts Neighborhood Crime Watch Commission

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