Boston Police Mayor Martin J. Walsh visited Jamaica Plain last week to award Mildred Hailey taskforce President Wendy Polanco with the 2019 Crime Fighter of the Year award as part of the Boston Police Department Night Out Awards. The Boston Police Department gives it’s Night Out awards to leaders who have contributed to securing the public safety of Boston residents.
Polanco was “honored, I received the award on behalf of the whole community, the whole community won this award.” The Task Force at Mildred Hailey have monthly meetings with the Mayor’s Office, BPD, and residents, and have been working closely with the Mayor’s office for two years on issues concerning public safety.
As the taskforce President, Polanco is heavily involved with the community at Mildred Hailey, and is usually setting up meetings and events with residents in order to increase participation and awareness among her fellow residents. Wendy has been working with Mothers Café, parenting programs, youth groups, and even a trauma team at Mildred Hailey. Also working very closely with Urban Edge, Boston Children’s Hospital, and ABCD.
The Boston Police Department issues one award for the “Crime Fighter of the Year” every year, and also awards crime watch groups in each police district across the city.
In addition to Wendy’s individual award, the neighborhood watch groups at Lower Mills and Archdale both received district level “Top Crime Watch Group of the Year” awards from the Boston Police Department for their “outstanding success in crime prevention activities that serve as an inspiration to others to keep up the fight against crime in Boston”. There is constant communication with the Police Department and residents and both communities do a great job of keeping their homes safe and friendly place to live. “All the tenants helped to earn this award. We were very excited winning the award, very pleased. All the hard work was finally been noticed,” Lower Mills taskforce President Kathy Ford said.
Congratulations to Wendy and the Neighborhood Watch leaders at Lower Mills and Archdale for their continued leadership in securing their neighborhoods and communities.
