State Police officials at Revere Beach have announced a comprehensive plan to patrol that Beach this summer, and those resources will spill over to beaches in Lynn and Nahant.
The days of depleted staffing at the area’s beaches isn’t quickly forgotten, but State Police officials last week said to forget the past and look forward to a safe future on the beach this summer.
State Police Major Edward Amodeo – who commands six police barracks from Chelsea to the New Hampshire border, including Revere Beach and Lynn’s beaches – unveiled a detailed public safety plan on Friday – putting it to work during the Memorial Day weekend and hopefully for the rest of the summer.
"Revere is really chief among our concerns because there’s lots of parking, there’s public transportation, and we have the ability to have a lot of people converge there at one time like no other place in our enforcement area," said Amodeo. "The good thing about Lynn and Nahant is they’re right across the bridge for us. Really, anything we have in Revere will come here. Our Revere Beach initiative will cover this area too. That’s just prudent.
"The thing about Lynn Beach, King’s Beach, Red Rock and Nahant Beach is there is not that much parking or public transportation," he said.
Amodeo said they have implemented what they’re calling the Revere Beach Enforcement Initiative.
He said it’s a public safety plan that is unlike anything implemented at the beaches previously.
The plan calls for five additional Troopers to be assigned to the area on Friday and Saturday night (as well as Sunday night on holidays) through at least June 30th. Those Troopers are in addition to the regular patrols from the Revere Beach Barracks, as well as a roving team of 14 Troopers that covers Amodeo’s entire enforcement area.
The five additional Troopers dedicated to the area will consist of three uniformed Troopers on walking patrols – one with a K-9 unit.
Two additional undercover Troopers from the Suffolk County DA’s Gang and Narcotics Unit will bolster that effort.
"Those undercover officers know all the players and will be able to tell who might be gang members," said Amodeo. "They’re going to be able to mix more with those people who might be coming to the Beach to cause trouble. We’re going to set the tone through aggressive enforcement.
"It’s important to set the tone early, especially if you’re dealing with a gang member or someone attempting to use the Beach to sell drugs," he added.
Besides the State Police units, Amodeo also indicated that the Lynn Police detectives and Gang Unit members would be involved in helping the effort.
He added there would be a notable presence during the annual July 4th fireworks at Red Rock.
"We will have a pretty hefty presence there," he said. "We’ll make sure the roads are closed and people can come down and enjoy the fireworks."
One unfortunate change at the area’s beach, though, will be the discontinuation of the State Police Mounted (Horse) Unit. They will no longer be at Lynn and Nahant Beaches.
Likewise, Major Amodeo said he would like to have more enforcement of the commercial truck ban on Lynn Shore Drive. He said that all commercial trucks and vehicles are excluded from the road, but there are many violators – tying up beach traffic in the summer.
He said they have a unit specifically assigned to monitor the problem, but they are limited in resources.
"I would like to be enforcing that much more aggressively," he said. "We’re going to really work on that this summer."
In regards to the extra beach patrols, the uncertainty of the state’s finances could stall the initiative just as it gets started. Amodeo said that the plan is to continue the patrols through the end of the summer, but right now they cannot guarantee anything beyond June 30th – the end of the state’s budget cycle.
"This is something we’ve never tried before," concluded Amodeo. "Hopefully, our grant will be extended for the entire summer."