By Tréa Lavery
masslive.com
BOSTON — Boston City Council has rejected a resolution in support of allowing residents of other cities and towns to join the city’s police department.
Councilor Ed Flynn said allowing lateral transfers into Boston Police Department for officers who live outside city limits would help the department address staffing shortages. He filed both the failed resolution and a matching hearing order ahead of Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
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But some of his colleagues worried that introducing non-Bostonian police officers would jeopardize the relationships the department has built in the community.
The council voted 9-3 on Wednesday to reject the resolution.
“I really appreciate the fact that we have such a strong community policing model in the city of Boston, and much of that is due to the fact that we have police officers who grew up in the neighborhoods,” Council President Liz Breadon said. “They know the neighborhoods and they reflect the diversity, and we need to cultivate and expand that diversity in our police force going forward.”
Boston requires most municipal employees, including members of the police and fire departments, to live in the city.
The Boston Police Department is supposed to employ a roster of at least 2,500 officers. In May, the department reported having about 2,100.
Flynn argued that the shortage of officers had contributed to an uptick in crime throughout the city, noting several shootings had occurred over the past week, two of which were fatal.
“Boston police have worked more than 16 hours a day for years, disregarding physical and emotional well-being,” Flynn said.
“Voluntary retirements and resignations have resulted in this mandatory overtime,” he continued. “This results in both the physical and emotional burnout in our police officers, potentially diminishing their ability to maintain public safety for Boston residents.”
Flynn and Councilors Erin Murphy and John Fitzgerald supported the resolution, but the nine other councilors present at Wednesday’s meeting voted against it. Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata did not attend the meeting.
Like some of the other councilors who opposed the resolution, Councilor Miniard Culpepper acknowledged that it was meant to address a real issue.
However, he said he did not believe the solution was to change the high standards required for members of “one of the finest departments in the world.”
“To me, this resolution addresses a symptom and not the disease,” Culpepper said. “The real question is how we make it easier to fill vacancies. The real question is why fewer people are choosing policing as a career, why officers are leaving and what can we do to recruit and retain the next generation of exceptional public servants.”
Flynn’s hearing order to study changing the residency requirement was referred to the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice for a future hearing.
Should departments eliminate residency requirements to attract experienced officers?
Police1 readers respond:
- A 15-mile distance to city limits is reasonable and has been a past practice. Don’t raise the age any higher; if they can’t get the numbers, move the distance to 20 miles.
- They should get rid of the residency requirement; this profession needs dedicated officers. It should not matter that they are not residents of the expensive city, as long as they can get to work on time and care to serve and protect the citizens what do you care they live outside the city.
- Live anywhere you like.
- Raising age and waiving residency are both fine. There is no need, other than to mollify police unions, for any police officer to do details. Look around at other states.
- Yes, eliminate both the residency requirement and the maximum age requirement. Rent in the City of Boston, Massachusetts is excessively high. Parking is also expensive. The maximum age limit should also be eliminated. A U.S citizen who retires from a warehouse job or teaching school may be in excellent physical shape and have the desire to work. A 50- or 55-year-old brings wisdom and calmness. Eliminate the maximum age restriction. If you are a U.S citizen and pass the tests then you are hired. Build those numbers.
- Absolutely, as long as they reside in the same state.
- A lot of other states should consider this.
- Allowing vetted retirees and such to work details such as schools, traffic direction and other details would free up a uniform for the road.
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