FY 2024 Pawtucket Police JAG Overtime Initiative

The Pawtucket Police Department will use the funding provided by the 2024 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) to fund the FY24 Pawtucket Police JAG overtime initiative.  The 2024 JAG award will continue to be used by the Pawtucket Police Department to support the overtime cost of the departments Narcotic/Vice Unit over the four-year period of the grant. The 2024 JAG grant funding will continue to be used to meet many of the police department’s goals and objectives to reach the collective goal of improving the quality of life for the residents of Pawtucket, RI. This initiative will be a continuation of our Department’s efforts in making the streets and neighborhoods in Pawtucket a safer place to live. One of our main missions is to continue to commit our Department’s resources and efforts in combating ongoing neighborhood problems and issues that have been plaguing our city and residents for numerous years.  We believe that a continued effort in this area will continue to help reduce our crime rate and help to improve our resident’s quality of life.  We realize these goals cannot be accomplished without the assistance of JAG funding considering the high cost of managing a police department and budget cuts the police department is experiencing.

The program goals over the four-year period of this grant will be a continued effort in the areas of drug investigations with an emphasis on our opioid epidemic, prostitution and John stings which are often associated with drug dealing and in some cases sex trafficking, and individuals and organizations involved in firearm related crimes. We will continue to conduct investigations into mid-level and street level narcotics dealers. Additionally, there has been a steady increase in heroin and fentanyl related overdoses over the last several years, many of these overdose incidents resulted in death. The Pawtucket Police Narcotics/Vice Unit will review and investigate all overdose cases utilizing all available investigative techniques. This grant will support the overtime needed to support both long and short-term investigations.

In order to reach the goals of the FY24 JAG Initiative, the Pawtucket Police Narcotics/Vice Unit will focus on drug offenders and target individuals involved in the illegal drug trade which many times also includes firearms related offenses. The Pawtucket Police Narcotics/Vice Unit will use quality and proven policing tactics and investigative methods to focus on crime in our neighborhoods. Investigations are based off complaints from citizens, as well as information obtained through proactive policing and by reviewing crime data and crime trend information. The Pawtucket Police Narcotics/Vice Unit will continue to learn and develop new methods to help combat sex trade crimes, human trafficking, and illegal street prostitution.  We will also focus on firearm related violence by actively investigating person involved with the possession and sale of illegal firearms.  Within our city we have been introduced to ghost guns.  We have had several crimes involving ghost guns as well as seizures of these firearms.  These “Ghost” guns have proven to be a new threat to our neighborhoods.  Pawtucket Police Narcotics/Vice Unit will focus on apprehending individuals carrying/concealing, manufacturing and possession of these ghost guns. 

Many of our arrests in these areas involve repeat offenders that are living in the City.  We plan on accomplishing some of these goals by using undercover surveillance and focusing on Drug Market Intervention. The Pawtucket Police will continue to utilize all resources available through the detectives assigned to several federal task forces. Currently the Pawtucket Police Narcotics/Vice unit has detectives assigned as task force officers to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rhode Island High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Homeland Security Investigations, US Postal Investigation Unit and the RI Attorney General’s Office. We believe that through the collaboration with federal agencies and the investigation of the local drug markets, firearm related incidents and prostitution, the quality of life for the residents of Pawtucket will be improved.  Many of our drug investigations lead to quality asset forfeiture gains for the department that will be reinvested into our department.  

The local community and stakeholders are actively engaged in the planning process. In addition to known areas of concern based on past instances, community outreach and feedback is solicited. For instance, annually, an ad is run in the local newspaper to solicit and to encourage the community’s feedback on the Justice Assistance Grant. Additionally, members of the Department attend Community Meetings where citizens voice their concerns over neighborhood issues which include drug related incidents and/or prostitution.  We have members actively participate in meetings with local outreach program personnel.  A telephone tip line as well as an anonymous online portal available and is monitored by the Narcotics/Vice Unit and all leads are subsequently pursued.

Quarterly project evaluations will be completed throughout the grant by monitoring our arrest rates in the areas of drug violations, overdose incidents, prostitution, and firearm related offenses. Besides reviewing data and information, detectives will hold unit meetings as well as meet with other divisions of the police department to ensure the program is working efficiently and enforcement initiatives are being met. The intention of the project evaluations and meetings is to monitor progress in the program as well as to generate improvements, increase efficiency of the investigations and modify or investigative approach as required.

Project Identifiers: Overtime, Drug Offenders, Policing, Firearms, Surveillance, Task Forces, Asset Forfeiture, Human Trafficking.