2006 Award for Merit

Sergeant Robert J. Vaccaro, North Shore Community College

Sergeant Robert Vaccaro is a 15-year veteran of the North Shore Community College Campus Police Department. Sergeant Vaccaro is the Day Shift Supervisor and is the department’s lead criminal investigator.

Vaccaro’s primary duty post is the college’s Lynn, MA, Campus. Lynn is an urban center just outside of Boston. Lynn has a large immigrant population and all the usual challenges to law enforcement expected in a populated urban community.

Sergeant Vaccaro’s contribution to the college’s public safety is a daily and on-going effort. A few of his most notable contributions over the past 24-month period:

• Sergeant Vaccaro investigated and successfully prosecuted a complicated and very public case of lewd conduct perpetrated upon a student by a previously convicted sex offender occurring on one of the college’s campuses. ·
• He was assigned an investigation into the theft of college computer equipment with a value in excess of one thousand dollars. Sergeant Vaccaro began his investigation with no evidence or leads. Through good old fashion police work he developed information and identified the responsible individual. This individual was later linked to a number of computer thefts occurring in the downtown business district of Lynn.
• Sergeant Vaccaro investigated and made an arrest on a domestic violence and stalking offence occurring on campus where the victim was being pursued and accosted on a daily basis.
• Upon the conclusion of the case, Sergeant Vaccaro received a written commendation for his work on the case from the Lynn Chief of Police, John Suslak. 
• On the same day as the previous incident, Sergeant Vaccaro initiated a second domestic violence and stalking investigation that upon its conclusion was deemed by Lynn Police Domestic Violence Detective Christine Speranzza as “one of the worst cases of on-going domestic violence the City has ever encountered.”
• Sergeant Vaccaro’s interaction with this student victim allowed her to find the strength and confidence to put and end to her fear and the abuse.

"Compassion and understanding are powerful tools in the hands of a talented law enforcement officer. I am proud to nominate this gifted and special individual for his significant personal sacrifice and contribution to college and the community’s public safety," said Douglas P. Puska Director of Public Safety at North Shore Community College Campus Police, who nominated Sergeant Vaccaro.

He was recently honored by the Massachusetts Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators with their Brass Special Recognition Award Plaque for his personal contribution to Campus Public Safety.