East Sector

Captain Thomas Kennedy is the Sector Commander for the East Sector, which includes the neighborhoods of South Lowell, Back Central, and Downtown. You may reach Captain Kennedy at the Lawrence Street Precinct – (978) 937-3234.

Welcome to the East Sector!
The East sector represents three sections of the city: Back Central, Downtown, and South Lowell. Each of our three neighborhoods is represented by a wide variety of nationalities and cultures. The unique stamp of each of these cultures is visible in the many stores and businesses that dot our city blocks, as well as in the faces of our inhabitants.

Our Back Central neighborhood, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, was one of the first in the city to get involved in the rebirth of neighborhood activism and community policing in Lowell. The residents came together and worked hand in hand with the police department to help “clean up” the neighborhood. We proudly act as a model for other sectors and other police departments to emulate where our partnership with our neighborhoods is concerned. Our expression “clean up” refers not only to crime but also to quality of life issues such as empty lots, abandoned cars, and landlord responsibilities. Back Central neighborhood group members perform a monthly “Neighborhood Walk” that includes participants from city services such as inspectional, health, fire safety, precinct police as well as neighborhood people. Theirs was the first “Walk” begun in the city.

The care and pride shown by the citizens of this neighborhood spread throughout the city. Subsequently, neighborhood groups have formed in almost every section of the city. Community policing is still on the move in Lowell and thanks to the neighborhood groups, the future is looking bright.

Our Downtown neighborhood is as busy as it has ever been! With venues like the Tsongas Arena, LeLacheur Baseball Park, Boarding House Park, and fascinating and unique museums, the downtown is bustling with tourists and concertgoers. There are many fine dining restaurants in the downtown that will appeal to those who crave French, Greek, Southeast Asian, Indian, Italian, or great all American cuisine. As well as businesses, the Downtown neighborhood includes many of the city's elderly residents living in various apartment buildings in the area. The LRTA bus terminal is located in the downtown as well as many food, clothing, and entertainment venues. The downtown also hosts a yearly summer Folk Festival attended by tens of thousands from around the country; an urban National Park, the first in the nation, as well as many other attractions and tours. We look forward to your visit and hope that you will take advantage of these many city sites as well as the National Park.

Our last, but by no means least, neighborhood is South Lowell. This neighborhood is steeped in history. The Lowell Cemetery is located in this neighborhood and it is one of the oldest cemeteries in the city. There are monuments throughout the cemetery documenting the history of the city and it's people. South Lowell is primarily a residential neighborhood and yet it holds one of the country's best white water rafting locations. The Concord River runs through this section of the city and people come from all over to go white water rafting here. Many competitions are held here in the spring and we hope you'll come and join us.

Well, that's just a brief highlight of the East Sector. We hope we've sparked your interest and that you'll be visiting us soon.

East Sector Organization

Executive Officer
The East Sector Executive Officer is Lieutenant Barry Golner. He oversees the East Sector patrol supervisors.

Below, are some of our recent initiatives:

• Maintained geographically assigned patrol officers to neighborhood routes

• Established a Bicycle Safety Program to increase safety awareness, encouraging the use of helmets and promoting safe ridership among local youths as well as registering the bicycles to discourage theft

• Participated in the monthly Neighborhood Walks, mentioned above under the Back Central neighborhood

• Continued to participate in a downtown truancy sweep initiative in partnership with our downtown high school that has been ongoing for over 4 years. We continue to explore avenues to make our truancy efforts more effective. Because the high school is located in the middle of the downtown area, efforts to establish a plan to deal with the afternoon dismissal of the High School's almost 4000 students are continually being fine tuned by the police as well as the community.

• Developed a two pronged Graffiti initiative in partnership with business and neighborhood groups:

  • Graffiti Reward Program: developed and disseminated flyers to all public schools offering monetary reward for information leading to the identification of offenders. This program involved a partnership with the Center City Committee.
  • Graffiti Removal Program: partnership effort with the Sacred Heart Neighborhood Group. Private individuals whose property is "tagged" can receive removal supplies and paint from the neighborhood group. Police will monitor property and make recommendations such as enhanced lighting, landscape improvements, etc. to prevent a reoccurrence.
• Participated monthly in the four neighborhood meetings occurring within the sector as well as the subcommittees formed for specific projects such as the Back Central Neighborhood Parking Project.

• Used radar, speed board, and other tools and techniques to improve traffic enforcement.

• Worked directly with city and community representatives to insure the success of numerous ethnic festivals and special events throughout the year.

• Continued ongoing discussions with business and neighborhood groups to develop a strategy to reduce the number of youth loitering and causing disturbances within the downtown area.

We currently are focusing on the following issues:

If there are any questions about our Sector or any of its neighborhoods please call us at (978) 970-4020.

We would be more than happy to answer any questions, and we are always open to new ideas and suggestions.