By Michele Morgan Bolton, Globe Correspondent
A bad economy coupled with easy accessibility to more potent addictive drugs has changed the face of crime in the suburbs south of Boston, shifting police attention in some communities from calls for routine service to more serious criminal behavior, law-enforcement officials say.
These factors are evident in Norwell, for example, where Police Chief Ted Ross said thefts have risen. “We had some people arrested who tried to steal between $400 and $500 in groceries,’’ said Ross.
Although the Norwell Police Department is at capacity at 23 officers, it is also a member of the Old Colony Anti Crime Task Force, a collaborative of local detectives who join together. Other member communities are Duxbury, Hanson, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Marshfield, Pembroke, Rockland, and Scituate.
As local police budgets are squeezed, the help is not only appreciated, it’s critical, Ross said.
“It’s an instance of one department being able to have eight or nine detectives available pretty much at the drop of a hat. It’s a burst of manpower without having to pay overtime costs,’’ he said.
In Walpole, meanwhile, Chief Richard Stillman says calls for police assistance have declined by 13 percent since this time last year, while serious crimes against people and property have increased 46 percent. That includes five armed robberies where previously there were none, he said.
“People are more anxious and upset about things,’’ Stillman said recently. “What used to be a verbal argument becomes more violent. And there are a huge number of people being grabbed at Lowe’s and Wal-Mart for shoplifting.’’
One reason for the shift, Stillman said, is the availability of heroin, which has replaced cocaine and other drugs in popularity, because of its comparatively lower cost. To be sure, people still get hooked on the heavy prescription drugs that can be found in many medicine cabinets, but they can’t afford them, he said. Heroin, with its affordability and great potency, increasingly fills the gap.
As in many other communities, the number of officers on staff in Walpole is down due to retirements, resignations, layoffs, and, potentially, pension reform, even as crime spikes.
Stillman has been covering his town of about 25,000 with a force that was down to 33 from the 2008 level of 40 officers. He recently added several laid-off officers but says more are needed.
As in Norwell, Walpole’s police relies on help from outside.
In Stillman’s case, it’s the Norfolk County Police Anti-Crime Task Force, or NORPAC, comprising detectives from 15 departments including Canton, Dedham, Foxborough, Medfield, Millis, Needham, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Wellesley, Westwood, and Wrentham.
Member municipalities occupy 230,000 square miles and have a collective population of 290,000 people. NORPAC’s director, Wellesley Deputy Police Chief William Brooks, says that, like Walpole’s, law-enforcement needs can change with the times.
“When budgets get cut, more departments are already doing more with less,’’ Brooks said. “When a department takes a hit on manpower, they typically put the drug unit back in uniform. . . . We have 10 to 12 detectives available who work together all the time.’’
For example, he said, the task force has done work in Norwood and was recently called to assist Dedham Police Detective Bob Walsh on a drug case involving a subject from Fall River. Declining to offer details, Brooks said the group effort resulted in a warrant to search the suspect’s car, and an arrest for dealing drugs.
“Walpole may be at the crest of the [heroin crime] wave, but we’ve seen this for a while now,’’ said David Traub, a spokesman for William Keating, Norfolk district attorney. “For several years, much of the armed robbery and bank robbery has been [committed by] people with a heroin history.’’
Keating and his staff have staged anti-heroin forums around the region for parents and others, as the average age of usage has dropped and crime has increased.
“The point is, heroin is here,’’ Traub said.
