Police Focus On Schools and Hospital Safety: PD Chief

MILFORD, MA- The Milford Police Department will be honing its focus on the town's schools and the Milford Regional Hospital moving forward.

In an update about the department at Thursday's Board of Selectmen meeting, Chief Thomas O'Loughlin explained that the department has been focusing efforts on the schools and hospital and will continue moving forward. O'Loughlin explained the focus as a way for officers to become familiar with the surroundings and not the result of any particular uptick in incidents.

At the schools, specifically the high school, the police department's Special Operations team has become a common presence. Chief O'Loughlin said the team is building relationships with the school community, including students and staff, "So that when they have to be at a school, its not a shock factor," O'Loughlin said. Adding that building the relationships within the schools makes everyone feel more comfortable. "It's not something bad's going on, you're here to protect us," he said.

Walk-throughs of the schools and continued active shooter training has helped keep officers up to date on practices and orientation in the school environment. "The schools right now are a big focus, that and the hospital," O'Loughlin said.

Chief O'Loughlin said the department has been spending more time at Milford Regional hospital, making it an additional focus where similar practices as the schools have been implemented. Milford Regional serves over 20 communities including Milford itself, O'Loughlin pointed out, bringing different people to the town. "They could be unruly, violent and we're the people that have to come in and take care of it and help them out," O'Loughlin said.

With patients from all over the region coming into the hospital, O'Loughlin said a good working relationship with hospital staff is critically important. Each shift in the police department is required to perform a walk-through of the hospital, including the Special Operations team who does a separate walk-through.

As far as the department as a whole, O'Loughlin said it is in good shape for the rest of the year and expects a few retirements in the near future. He also added that the department sponsored a number of auxiliary officers in the academy who are serving in other departments but could make their way back to Milford. "The savings are huge," O'Loughlin said, "You don't have to pay them while they're in training, you don't have to pay someone to fill their overtime. And you're hiring a young person that grew up here."

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