I find this deeply offensive. Our Public Safety Dept. is highly professional and well-respected thought the Commonwealth. They keep us safe and work with the utmost sensitivity to our small town population, regardless of race, color or creed. I have been here since 1976 and have raised 2 boys here-lord knows PS has been tested by them and their peers. All our experiences have revealed a truly professional department. We are very blessed to have had great leadership in the department-most recently in Chief Kevin Kennedy -and I am confident that level of stellar professionalism will continue. Thank you to that department and to all who serve us.
Sara Mattes ------ Sara Mattes > On Dec 29, 2023, at 6:17 PM, John F. Carr <[email protected]> wrote: > > There are two types of enforcement in America – revenue based, and to > grease squeaky wheels. My sense is Lincoln has the second kind. > America basically doesn't do data-driven enforcement based on accident > counts and causes, which is one reason traffic enforcement doesn't > affect safety. Police go where residents complain and hang out until > residents are reassured that the Select Board really loves them after > all. > > Hand in hand with greasing the squeaky wheels, avoiding inconvenience > to residents is a top priority of a small town police force. I'm sure > our police force understands when to patrol to get the maximum > fraction of nonresidents and the most visibility to possibly > housebound residents. They must have a sense of which types of cars > are likely to contain residents. Somebody on the way to my house, not > driving a high end car, got stopped. The police officer was thinking > "jackpot!", a black non-resident. But she said she was going to see > somebody in town. Which would make her almost as good as a white > resident. So the officer argued with her about whether she had > legitimate business in town even though it was completely irrelevant > to whether she should have been pulled over and whether she should get > a ticket. (If you are interested in this subject matter, get a copy > of _Suspect Citizens: What 20 Million Traffic Stops Tell Us About > Policing and Race_.) > > There are consequences if police in a small town ticket too many > residents. Utica, Indiana let go of most of its police force because > they didn't understand who should get tickets. There was no > suggestion that the tickets were not legitimate. But you just don't > DO that. > > As for the specific speed limit mentioned, it was set in the 1950s for > no reason that appears in records. It was not reviewed when the law > changed to require a written reason, nor when the standards for > setting speed limits changed and changed again. It is just an > obsolete relic left by some long dead official in the state DPW. > Possibly it was based on what speed through the curve was comfortable > in a Ford Model A with bench seats and no seat belts. Formally, this > many degrees on a ball bank indicator indicate that many miles per > hour. The numbers were based on what was comfortable in a Model A. > The ball bank indicator is no longer a legitimate basis for regulatory > speed limits, but it lives on in fossil form in a thousand signs from > the 1950s and 1960s. This is one reason why speed limits in > Massachusetts bounce up and down apparently at random a few times per > mile while other states pick a speed limit and stick with it for miles > if not tens of miles. > > > John Carr > > On Wed, Dec 27, 2023 at 7:09 PM Marcus Ruopp <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Good evening Lincoln Talk, >> >> I was hoping to engage the community regarding the speed limit and police >> presence on Trapelo Road. We were taking the family today to dinner, and >> like many days, there was a police presence taking speed limits by Lexington >> Road coming downhill where the speed is difficult to control. We are >> conscious of this these days, but my overarching feeling is that they are >> typically pulling over Lincoln residents where the risk of accident or >> untoward event is quite limited. >> >> Appreciate any input from the community. >> >> Happy holidays to all. >> >> Marcus >> >> Winter street >> Lincoln, MA >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >> > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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