TO:                  Mayor William F. Martin, Jr.

                                    And

                        Members of the Lowell City Council

FROM:            Bernard F. Lynch, City Manager

DATE:             May 3, 2007

SUBJECT:        COUNCIL MOTION OF 4/10/07 BY COUNCILLOR RODNEY ELLIOTT

 “REQUEST THE CITY MANAGER AND THE ACTING POLICE CHIEF

REPORT ON THE LATE NIGHT DISTURBANCES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA”.

___________________________________________________________________________

Regarding the above mentioned motion, I have been in contact with Ken Lavallee, Acting Police Chief.  Ken has informed me that over the past few months there have been several serious assaults that occurred downtown. The most serious being a stabbing that occurred outside the Café Paradisio and two fights that resulted in serious injury. Each of these events occurred outside bars. Research has linked alcohol consumption with violent behavior. For example, the National Center for Alcohol Law Enforcement reports that 1 in every 4 violent crime perpetrators had been drinking prior to committing the violent act (April, 2006).

The Lowell Police Department reviewed crime statistics for the downtown neighborhood[1] during the hours of 11:00 PM and 4:00 AM. Since January 1, 2007 there have been 44 criminal incidents that occurred, many of which resulted in several charges (See Attached Map). Several of these incidents were alcohol-related including:

·        Assaults that occurred either inside or directly outside a bar. This includes a fight between men from the Coast Guard and men from the Marines, the stabbing outside the Café Paradisio, and an assault of a victim, who was too intoxicated to assist the police department with the investigation.

·        Public urination

·        OUIs including a hit-and-run accident where intoxication was suspected in the driver that fled the scene.

·        Taking highly intoxicated individuals into protective custody

·        Malicious destruction including an incident where patrons broke bottles in Rumba’s nightclub and an incident where a highly intoxicated individual smashed several windows in a car while screaming profanities.

·        Public drinking

To curtail these events, the Lowell Police Department has implemented several initiatives aimed at addressing crime and disorder issues in the downtown. To date, the Lowell Police Department in partnership with the Massachusetts State Police CAT Team, have conducted 3 Downtown Mobilizations to increase police presence throughout downtown Lowell. During these events officers made 16 arrests, filed 8 criminal complaint applications, wrote 157 motor vehicle citations and issued 58 parking tickets. Most importantly, during these mobilizations the police department did not receive any calls for service from the downtown liquor establishments.

In addition, the police department has increased its vigilance in citing liquor establishments for misconduct especially when criminal incidents occur. This year, the police department has requested License Commission hearings for 20 liquor establishments and 10 liquor stores for either serving to minors, over serving patrons, or failing to call police after the commission of a crime. Of these, Rumba’s Night Club and Khermara Restaurant were named in two requests.

The department has also implemented the Underage Alcohol Enforcement Initiative, which monitors compliance with the laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors. This year the department has conducted 79 compliance checks and 21 establishments have been cited. To elaborate on this initiative, the Lowell Police Department Training Institute has scheduled training for Chiefs of Police and Superior officers on May 4, 2007. This training will teach the officers techniques to detect false identification and how to lawfully implement liquor enforcement programs such as:

·        Underage Sting Operations

·        Cops in Shops – a program where undercover officers pose as clerks to deter minors from purchasing alcohol

·        Last Call operations – officers work undercover in local establishments to enforce the Sale of Alcohol Beverage to Intoxicated Patrons regulation.

This training is also being offered to the License Boards/Commissions for Lowell and surrounding towns as well as bar owners.

On April 25, 2007 the Lowell Police Department and the Downtown Neighborhood Association hosted a neighborhood meeting to discuss issues and concerns regarding the downtown. The objective of this meeting was to provide an opportunity for these two groups to reach a reasonable compromise. At this meeting, a subcommittee was formed to maintain open lines of communication between the business owners, residents, and police officers. This committee will meet on a regular basis.  

On April 26 – 28, 2007 the Lowell Police Department increased its visibility with foot/bicycle patrols in the Downtown Area during the hours of 10:00 PM through 3:00 AM. This was done to respond to residents’ concerns. This initiative utilized 6 officers from the North and West Sectors. These officers patrolled in teams of two to increase visibility, monitor all parking areas to deter loitering and drinking, strictly enforce parking and traffic violations, and enforce public drinking laws. The areas patrolled included:

·        Central St. from Appleton St. to Merrimack St. (including alleys and side streets)

·        Between the midline Middle St. from the Central St. to Shattuck St.

·        Between the midline of Middle St. to Paige St. from Bridge St. to Kirk St.

·        After closing hours the officers patrolled Gorham St. and Union St. 

In addition, the Lowell Police Department would recommend imposing other preventative measures in place to minimize assaults and disorder including:

·        Not allowing patrons in the bar after a certain hour. The liquor establishments in almost all of the surrounding cities, excluding Dracut, close at 1:00 AM. Therefore, there are individuals who come to Lowell for last call; in many cases these individuals should not be allowed into the bar because they are already intoxicated. Not allowing these individuals inside the bar will alleviate the issues they cause including decreasing the number of intoxicated drivers on the streets. Lawrence, MA has noticed a substantial decrease of assaults on weekend nights since the city rolled back the hours of operation to 1:00 AM.

·        Impose regulations that require the bartenders to stop serving alcohol 30 minutes before close, which will allow patrons time to finish drinks with ample time to leave the bar before the closing time.

·        Impose regulations that require the music/entertainment be stopped early enough to allow all patrons enough time to safely exit the bar before closing time.

·        Strictly enforce the over serving regulations

·        Require every patron to provide a valid driver’s license or military ID

·        Enforce over crowding regulations/ fire code violations

·        Encourage patrons to utilize public parking garages because they are well lit and have security on the premise.

I hope this information is helpful and we will keep you updated as this process continues.

If you have any questions regarding this, please let me know.   Thank you.