Public safety

For Fraud Awareness Week, Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker is sharing warning signs and tips with residents related to an alarming rise in scams involving cryptocurrency ATM kiosks. Fraud Awareness Week began in 2000 and is an international effort to minimize the impact of fraud by promoting anti-fraud education. Marblehead Police, along with a local teenager, helped foil at least one attempted Bitcoin scam recently. Read about that HERE. Tucker says fraudsters are increasingly turning to Bitcoin ATMs which are typically located in…

Marblehead Police Wednesday shared safety tips for e-bike riders after seeing "an increase of crashes and near misses involving e-bikes over the last year," according to an MPD statement "E-bikes allow children and teens to build independence and be socially engaged. However, parents need to be aware of the dangers of these devices so they can inform their children on how to operate them safely," the statement read. Most e-bikes are equipped to travel no faster than 20 mph, which is the legal limit for…

Traffic Safety Action Committee Chair Rick Smyers will write a letter to parents of Marblehead Public School students to help them teach safe e-cycling practices to their children. The letter will be sent by Superintendent John Robidoux, according to TSAC. “I took the meeting with the head of the PTO at [Veterans Middle School],” Committee Chair Rick Smyers said at a Nov. 17 meeting “She shared my concerns, the same concerns that we’ve been talking about, that this is going to be a problem and…

Today, Gov. Maura Healey signed an act formally establishing increased fines for violators of Marblehead’s snow emergency parking ban. The act, approved at Town Meeting last May, increases fines from $50 to no more than $100 if paid within 21 days and no more than $105 if paid thereafter. A snowy day in Marblehead last winter. CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER According to the act, the new fines take effect immediately. Police Chief Dennis King told the Current Wednesday afternoon, “We are in communication with town…

With Massachusetts considering new rules for cryptocurrency ATMs, Marblehead officials are taking a closer look at whether to regulate the machines locally as police statewide report a rise in scams tied to digital-currency kiosks. The state’s Joint Committee on Financial Services heard hours of testimony last week on a proposal that would, for the first time, require cryptocurrency kiosk operators to register with the state, post fraud warnings and set daily transaction limits. It would also require kiosk operators to refund victims of fraudulent transactions.…

Marblehead Police and Fire departments just announced that they have identified a 12-year-old suspect in two church fires at Star of the Sea during Mass the last two Sundays. Investigators say the juvenile is the sole suspect. Marblehead Police and Fire investigated a second church fire on Sunday, Sept. 29. CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER “We take all fire incidents seriously, no matter how small, and are grateful for the teamwork that helped us bring this case to a swift resolution,” said Fire Chief Jason…