Needham Police Department

Join the Needham Police Department and Needham Fire Department on Saturday, October 17, from 11:00 AM–2:00 PM for one of our favorite, and most well-attended, community events of the year!

Our Police & Fire Open House is completely FREE and packed with things for the entire family to see and do.

🍕 More than 1,000 slices of pizza!
🌭 Hot dogs
🚓 Police cruisers and equipment
🚔 Metro-LEC Bearcat
🚁 Check out our drone unit
🚒 Fire trucks and fire equipment
👋 Numerous tables of local community partners
👮 Meet members of Needham Police
👨‍🚒 Meet members of Needham Fire
🔒 Tour our holding cells where every year, more than a few parents ask if they can leave their kids for an extended stay. The kids usually become much more interested when we tell them our "temporary guests" get McDonald’s!

…and SO MUCH MORE!

For the last three years, the turnout has been incredible, and this has quickly become one of our most well-attended community events of the year.

There is no cost to attend. Bring the family, come hungry, explore the equipment, tour the stations, and spend some time with your Needham first responders.

📅 Saturday, October 17
⏰ 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

We can’t wait to see you there!

A significant storm is expected to impact our area for multiple days, bringing periods of heavy rain and strong winds. With the duration of this storm, we anticipate the possibility of localized flooding, downed trees and wires, and road closures throughout Needham.

Before the rain arrives, please take a few minutes to clear leaves and debris from storm drains near your home, if it is safe to do so. Keeping drains clear can make a big difference during prolonged periods of heavy rain.

🚧 If a road is closed, please do not attempt to drive around barricades or officers. Conditions can change quickly, and a roadway that appears passable may be flooded, damaged, or blocked by downed wires or trees.

🚗 Never drive through standing or moving water. Turn around and find another route.

⚡ Always assume downed wires are live. Stay well away, keep children and pets clear, and never attempt to move a wire, branch, or anything else that may be touching it.

With this being a multi-day event, please plan ahead, allow extra time for travel, and expect that your normal route may not always be available.

For downed wires, significant flooding, trees blocking roadways, or any situation presenting an immediate public safety hazard, please call 911.

For non-emergencies, call 781-455-7570. Please do not call asking when your power will be restored. We do not possess a magic eight ball.

Our officers, along with our partners at Needham Fire and DPW, will be out throughout the storm responding to issues as they arise.

A huge thank you to our friends at the Medway Police Department for putting together this incredibly helpful flyer!

E-bikes, electric scooters, mopeds, and electric dirt bikes can look very similar, but the laws surrounding them are very different. We encourage parents to SAVE this flyer to their phones and take a few minutes to understand exactly what their child is riding.

We’ve responded to numerous crashes involving these bikes and scooters. We love seeing kids outside, spending time with friends, and enjoying some independence, but that independence comes with responsibility. Helmets, speed, traffic laws, visibility, and knowing where your particular bike or scooter can legally be operated all matter.

Parents, please know what you are purchasing and what your child is riding. Buying a high-powered electric dirt bike or other motorized bike for a child does not make it legal for them to operate it on a public road. Parents can also face legal and financial consequences depending on the circumstances when they knowingly allow a child to operate an e-bike unlawfully. Just as with other situations involving minors, providing the means for something does not eliminate the adult’s responsibility.

Sadly, communities around us have experienced heartbreaking tragedies involving young riders. We desperately want to prevent that from happening here. These machines can be fast, quiet, and difficult for motorists to see.

One mistake can have lifelong consequences.

Know what your child is riding. Know where they are riding it. Make sure they have the right safety equipment. And please talk with them about respecting the rules of the road.

We would much rather educate a family today than respond to a preventable tragedy tomorrow.

As our Jewish neighbors observe the High Holy Days, the Needham Police Department extends our heartfelt wishes for a meaningful Yom Kippur and a peaceful year ahead.

At a time when our world continues to experience conflict, division, uncertainty, and antisemitism, the messages of reflection, compassion, renewal, and peace carry even greater meaning.

Here in Needham, we are incredibly grateful for the strong relationships we share with our temples, Jewish families, and the entire Jewish community. Those relationships extend far beyond the holidays. We are proud to stand alongside you, and work together to ensure everyone in our community feels safe, supported, and welcome.

As Yom Kippur is observed and Sukkot follows, may this season bring comfort to those carrying heavy hearts, strength to those facing difficult times, and hope for a world with peace.

From all of us at the Needham Police Department, we wish you and your families health, happiness, and a meaningful year ahead.

They are silent, but incredibly impactful.

On Monday evening, our officers responded to an incredibly difficult incident at a home here in Needham. No other information will be released regarding this.

As we began thinking about how we could support the students in the days ahead, one of the first questions asked from school administration that night was:

“How many dogs can we get to the high school?”

It was 9:30 pm, but it didn't matter.

The answer over the next several days was incredible.

Community resource and comfort dogs from the Babson College Police Department, Boston University Police Department, Dedham Police Department, Harvard Police Department, Hingham Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Littleton Police Department, Methuen Police Department, Newton Police Department, North Andover Police Department, Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, Plymouth Fire Department, Shrewsbury Police Department, and Wayland Police Department all answered the call, joining our own Rocket and Ghost in supporting the Needham High School community.

For the last two days, these dogs walked the halls, sat quietly beside students and staff, offered a paw, brought a smile when one was desperately needed, and provided comfort during moments when there simply weren’t words.

They didn’t ask questions. They didn’t expect anyone to talk. They were just there.

And sometimes, being there is enough.

We are incredibly grateful to every handler and agency that rearranged schedules, traveled to Needham, and simply said, “We’ll be there.”

This week has been a reminder that the patch on our shoulder may be different, but when one community is hurting, we show up for one another.

To all of our partners who showed up for Needham, and especially for the students, thank you.

Twenty-five years ago today, 2,977 lives were taken in a matter of hours, leaving an emptiness that time will never fully erase.

We remember those who went to work, boarded a plane, or began an ordinary morning and never made it home.

We honor the firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and citizens who ran toward unimaginable danger because someone else needed help.

They climbed stairs others were fleeing, entered buildings others were escaping, fighting back on Flight 93, and put the lives of complete strangers before their own.

Their courage that morning remains one of the greatest examples of selflessness our nation has ever witnessed.

Today, we remember every life lost, every family forever changed, and every hero who answered the call.

Twenty-five years later, their sacrifice is not forgotten and neither are their names.

Tomorrow marks 25 years since September 11, 2001.

For those who lived through that day, we remember exactly where we were when the world seemed to stop.

We remember the towers. The Pentagon. A field in Shanksville.

We remember the firefighters climbing stairs while thousands were trying to get down. The police officers running toward danger. The paramedics, dispatchers, military members, and ordinary citizens who saw someone who needed help, and helped.

We remember the 2,977 lives taken that morning and the countless others forever changed.

But 25 years later, we should remember something else, too.

Remember what September 12th felt like.

We held doors open a little longer. We waved to neighbors. We checked on one another. We called family just to hear their voices. We thanked first responders.

Strangers talked to strangers. People were a little more patient, a little more compassionate, and a little more willing to help.

For a brief moment, we stopped focusing on what divided us and remembered what connected us.

We were neighbors. We were Americans.

So today, before tomorrow’s anniversary, we challenge you to bring a little bit of September 12th back.

Hold the door for someone.

Wave to the neighbor you usually drive past.

Check on someone who lives alone.

Call the person you’ve been meaning to call.

Thank a first responder.

Help a stranger without expecting anything in return.

Choose kindness.

We should never need another tragedy to remind us how much we need one another.

Tomorrow, we will remember those who left home on an ordinary Tuesday morning and never returned. We will remember the first responders who ran toward danger and the families who have carried their loss for 25 years.

But today, let’s honor them by remembering how we treated one another in the days that followed.

September 11, 2001.

25 years later, we remember.

Yes, our non-emergency phone lines are still down, and we have heard from several residents who have been struggling to get through to us.

For the time being, please utilize 781-444-1212 to reach Public Safety Dispatch for non-emergency assistance.

We have been working around the clock with our vendor to identify and correct the issue. We are also working on additional ways to get this information out to the community so residents know how to reach us while the outage continues.

Please help us by sharing this post, especially with neighbors, family members, or others who may not regularly see our social media updates. We want to make sure everyone knows that we are still here and available, you just need to use the alternate number for now.

📞 Non-Emergency: 781-444-1212
🚨 Emergency: 911

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding and will provide another update as soon as our normal phone service has been restored.

September is Su***de Prevention Month, and today, September 8, is 988 Day. It is an opportunity to make sure everyone knows about a resource that could quite literally save a life.

The 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, emotional distress, or simply feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to turn.

You can call, text, or chat 988.

You don’t have to wait until things reach a breaking point to reach out for help. You also don’t have to be the person experiencing the crisis. 988 can be a resource when you’re concerned about a friend, family member, coworker, or loved one.

Here in Needham, we know firsthand that mental health challenges and crises can affect anyone, regardless of age, background, or circumstance. Our officers regularly encounter individuals and families during some of their most difficult moments, and our goal is always to help connect people with the resources and support they need.

In addition to 988, Riverside Community Care provides 24/7 crisis support locally:

📞 Riverside: 781-769-8674 — available 24/7

📱 Call or text 988 — Su***de & Crisis Lifeline

🚨 Call 911 if there is an immediate threat to life or safety.

Sometimes helping someone starts with something as simple as knowing the right number to call.

988. Learn it. Share it. You never know when you may need it for yourself or someone you care about.

The Needham Police Department’s primary non-emergency/business line, 781-455-7570, is currently not working.

While we work to get the issue resolved, residents can still reach the Needham Police Department for non-emergency calls at 781-444-1212.

As always, for emergencies, please call 911.

We appreciate your patience and understanding and will provide an update once the issue has been resolved.