A series of Duxbury robberies have been linked to the South Shore’s spreading drug epidemic. Duxbury homeowners have suffered multiple break-ins in recent weeks with Police Chief Matt Clancy calling it a “bad stretch of burglaries.”
With help from the Old Colony Police Anti-Crime Task Force, which includes ten Plymouth County towns, Chief Clancy stated they have been successful finding the intruders.
However he explained the robberies have been drug related, “The prescription drug epidemic is at play here; where heroin seemed to be the major issue with these types of breaks. So it’s important for us to stay engaged in the regional task force because they don’t observe town lines and boundaries.”
According to the Duxbury Police Chief, addicts have been selling stolen property to pawn shops in Plymouth, Brockton, and Taunton. Computer software that tracks pawn shop receipts continues to help their investigation.
Wednesday night, Chief Matt Clancy updated the Finance Committee about a future regional dispatch center. According to Clancy, Duxbury is partnered in a feasibility study to investigate joining 9-1-1 call centers within seven local communities.
He explained the state not only grant funded the study but is willing to pay additional costs if the regional center is approved, “The state’s offering construction funding if you’re looking at facilities. They’re aggressively trying to reduce the number of PSAPs, call centers, throughout the state.”
Clancy further explained the state’s contribution comes from cell phone surcharge money. The seven towns would be split into two regional dispatch centers with Duxbury joining Kingston, Plympton, and Halifax.