Visitors to Stockbridge

The question was asked about how many people visit Stockbridge and the challenges involved for the Stockbridge Police Department. There is an estimate of about one million people that visit Stockbridge in any given year. While I have not been able to verify guest numbers with some of our attractions such as the Rockwell Museum, Eden Hill, Kripalu, Chesterwood, Berkshire Botanical Gardens and Wheatleigh and Tanglewood, which despite popular belief, are actually in Stockbridge, one million visitors truly seems low to me. If you think about it, in the height of summer and with these attractions full of visitors we could have up to thirty thousand people or more in town at any one time. That includes the people passing through or making a quick stop to peruse Main Street or visit Olivia’s Overlook, also in Stockbridge, by the way. Our busy times are summer especially, but also fall, the holidays and ski season during school vacations to a lesser degree. We used to have a slow season in Stockbridge from New Year’s to Memorial Day but since the Covid pandemic we have not had the typical slow down due to all of the people who migrated here from the cities.

With the influx of people the challenges to our police department are certainly increased during these times. Calls for service for things such as neighbor disputes, disturbing the peace calls, larceny’s, dog/animal complaints etc., all go up. Car accidents and speeding violations are increased. Medical calls and alarm calls surge as well as everything else in between. Included in the midst of all of this is the summertime bear wrangling we have had to do on Main and Elm Streets. With a staff of six full time around the clock patrol officers, who also desire their earned time off in the good weather, covering shifts and answering all of these calls for service can be daunting. However, with the way we have the work schedule set up it very much provides us with the extra coverage needed during the most hectic times of day. We will also add officers to the schedule to help when there are events such as large to capacity events at Tanglewood or for Mercy Sunday weekend for example. None the less, our little town has always been busy and hopefully will continue to thrive. Obviously, our town is doing something right as so many people want to be a part of it. Your police department will continue to do our part to make Stockbridge remains the most desirable location in the Berkshire’s.

Life Saving

Also of note, On Friday, July 8, 2022 at 4:32 pm Stockbridge Police Officer Shauna Slater responded to a medical call in town for a person with a laceration on their foot. Upon arrival Officer Slater realized the severity of the wound and applied a tourniquet to the victim. EMS and paramedics reported to me later that due to the amount of blood lost and considering the patients age they would have most certainly gone into shock and died if not for Officer Slater’s quick action. I would like to think that this is a direct reflection of the training and professionalism long associated with the Stockbridge Police Department. So if you see Officer Slater out on the street please offer her a compliment for a job well done.