Officer Tom Hanshaw is a modern day Renaissance Man. His 20 years of service with the Amesbury Police Department has led him to routine traffic patrols, complicated paperwork, and answering phone calls, not to mention a weekly column, and an active role in the town's Relay for Life and Our Neighbor's Table food pantry.
Born and raised in Amesbury, Hanshaw is the face of the P.D. at nearly every community function, greeting neighbors and friends with a welcoming smile.
His life as a police officer has proved very rewarding, as he spends his career defending, protecting, and serving the community he loves so dearly.
Q. How long have you been a police officer? How long have you been in Amesbury?
A. I started as an auxiliary officer in 1983, which was kind of like a volunteer police officer, doing traffic stops and things like that. I got full-time appointment in 1987, so I've been a full-time officer in Amesbury for over 20 years. I've lived here my entire life. I was born in Amesbury Hospital when they used to deliver babies.
Q. Why Amesbury?
A. I just felt comfortable here. My family is all in this area, and when I got married and started settling down, I thought this was a great place and a great community. And there are great services too. People complain about high taxes, but you definitely get your money's worth. It's a good place to bring up a family.
Q. What's your family like?
A. It's big, and growing. I have been married for 18 years, and my wife is on the School Committee so there's some politics in our blood. We have three children, 17, 15 and 11. They're not little any more, but they still keep us busy.
Q. What is your job like?
A. I do a little bit of everything. Regular patrol work, answering calls. I've been the crime prevention officer for almost 11 years, which is more like a community liaison for young and old. I attend senior events and go into the schools and do presentations. I work with Relay for Life and Our Neighbor's Table. I help out the evidence officers, so that keeps me a little busy, and I schedule cruisers for maintenance and do crime analysis and statistics. I try to fit all the little projects into my 10-hour day, but I'm often taking it home. I write a weekly article, and I've found that's actually easier to do at home because there is less distracting me.
Q. Why did you want to become a police officer? When did you know it was your calling?
A. In high school, I was a freshman or sophomore when I started to think about what I wanted to do with my life. The fire chief lived next door to me growing up, and I always thought it was very interesting. It was a way to help out. My mother was a crossing guard at the elementary school when I was in high school, so she worked with the police. The first 10 years I was writing a lot of tickets, but in 1996 when I became the crime prevention officer I became really interested and it took off from there.
Q. Is there a typical day on the job for you?
A. There really isn't one, and that's the great thing about being a police officer. You have a policy manual, but no two calls are ever the same. No day is the same as the next. I'm usually busy, though. When I'm not doing the police work, I have all those other things to coordinate.
Q. Do you ever have time to sleep?
A. I try to get to bed somewhat earlier, which is easier with a regular schedule because you can sleep when it's dark out.
Q. What was it like when you just started your career?
A. It seemed like I worked a lot. When I started, I was working nights, which was hard when you're bringing up a new family and you have a new house. Now there aren't as many overtime shifts like there used to be. But it makes you appreciate your vacation time. We do a four days on, four days off schedule, so if you need to pick up a few extra shifts, you still can have a few days off in between. It can be a stressful job. Some days you think, "Why am I doing this? No sane person would want this as a job." Experience makes a big difference when handling calls, because you see some of the same scenarios and you get a feel for how to handle certain calls.
Q. What's the best part about your job?
A. Being so involved now in community stuff. I'm always at the elementary schools and the senior center. It's nice saying hello, talking to people, and feeling like the town can approach me. I think sometimes police officers have that intimidation factor, but I think living in the community and being brought up in the community allows people to easily approach me with problems or just to chat.
Q. What do you find most challenging?
A. Just seeing the problems, not only in our community but in society. It kind of makes you question where the world is going. There are more positives than negatives, but the negatives have gotten much more serious. Kids are doing more things today that you would never imagine them doing, like drugs, and young people getting into car accidents. They are negative parts of society that affect even a small community like ours, and that's a huge obstacle when working on crime prevention and trying to be pro-active. You want people to know it's there, but you don't want to scare them. It's far safer here than in bigger cities, but you still have to stay on top of it. And just when you think society is doomed, you see a story about kids doing something positive in the community, like at Our Neighbor's Table or the churches.
Q. How has Amesbury changed in the years that you've been here?
A. Some things stay the same. Some things never change. But it's a common misconception that Amesbury has 16, 17,000 people, when we're actually more like 20,000. It used to be years ago you could walk downtown and you'd know everyone. Now there are a lot more newer people from other communities, which has been great. We still do have community events like Little League or soccer clubs that bring us all together. Now, unfortunately, everyone's off at work out of town all day. There's no one just walking around downtown. And sometimes, people don't even know who lives on either side of them. We have so many modern conveniences these days, but we have to work twice as much to pay for all those conveniences.
Q. What do you like to do in your (precious) spare time?
A. I like sports. I'm an avid Sox and Patriots fan. I love to watch all those teams. I like playing with the kids, doing community stuff, and I'm a collector of sports memorabilia. I like walking. I don't run anymore, but I walk. And I like mini golf. I play a lot of that in the summer.
Q. If there was a movie made about your life, what actor would you choose to play you?
A. Tom Cruise. Or maybe Harrison Ford from a decade ago. I'm an avid Star Wars fan. Or Adam Sandler, where he's a comedian and I have a sense of humor. I don't know if a movie about me would be that successful. Maybe it would be a TV movie.
Q. And what would the movie about your life be called?
A. Maybe "Living in a Small Town?" Or "Star Wars?" (chuckles) "Cops in the Community?" How about "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." That's already taken, but it pretty much sums up what we do here.
Officer Tom Hanshaw has worked for the Amesbury Police Department for 20 years, including the last 11 as crime prevention officer, a job he describes as being a community liaison.Cara Spilsbury/Staff Photo(Click for larger image)
