By Derek Gentile
The Berkshire Eagle
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — County and local law enforcement officials hosted a luncheon recently to announce the launching of the newest Triad program in Berkshire County, an effort that includes Great Barrington, Alford and Egremont.
Triad, according to Robert M. McDonough, public information officer for the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Department, is a national community policing initiative involving senior citizens, law enforcement and local service providers that attempts to increase safety among seniors through education and crime prevention.
The other six Triad chapters are Dalton, Hinsdale/Washington, North Adams, Lenox, Pittsfield and Tyringham.
The Triad meetings will be held the second Wednesday of the month at 2 p.m. at the Senior Center, where seniors will meet with local police and other law enforcement representatives to ask questions about virtually anything about which they feel concerned, McDonough said.
“No problem is too big, no question is too small,” said Sheriff Carmen C. Massimiano, whose office, in conjunction with the Berkshire District Attorney’s office, helped bring the program to Great Barrington. “We recognize that many senior citizens are on their own and are vulnerable.”
“This ties in with the overall community policing efforts we’ve been undertaking,” said Police Chief William R. Walsh. “We’ve started a community watch program in Housatonic, and this is another component (of community policing).”
Walsh said that residents do not have to have law enforcement-related questions when they come to the meetings.
“Yeah, really, it’s anything they want to bring up,” he said. “We were just talking with some seniors about the traffic lights on Main Street. So this isn’t just about legal questions.”
District Attorney David F. Capeless said that there will be an educational component to the meetings. Senior citizens are among the most vulnerable when it comes to falling for scams.
“This is a generation that is very trusting and goodhearted,” he said. “It’s a group of people who often are willing to open their doors to strangers, which is sometimes not the best thing to do. But it’s hard for many of these folks to understand that people might want to take advantage of them.”
McDonough said that meeting with local law enforcement representatives helps seniors “put a face” to them.
“They may be uncomfortable calling the Police Department, but they’ll call Bill Walsh because now they know who he is,” McDonough said.
Copyright 2008 The Berkshire Eagle