Fewer Cops, But Departments Make Do For Now
BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick made public safety a campaign issue in his 2006 run for governor, pledging to put another thousand cops on Massachusetts’ streets. Now, with the state budget in crisis, he is making cuts that will eliminate some of the police officers he promised.
Last month Patrick abolished his $4 million municipal police grants and cut $5 million or 24 percent of funding for community policing, a program he expanded since he took office.
Some police chiefs say the cuts will put off the hiring of dozens of new officers around the state and will force departments to cut back on community policing activities.
However, many chiefs say the funding cuts are not as bad as they appear.
“It’s livable,” said Fitchburg Police Chief Robert DeMoura. “Nothing is going to be seen in the public. It’s just something we’ll absorb.”
Fitchburg will lose $17,000 in community policing money that was to be used to crack down on gangs. DeMoura said the department will make up the cuts by restructuring officer shifts.
The Worcester Police Department lost $180,000, but essential operations were not affected, said department spokesperson Kerry Hazelhurst.
“There were no cuts in our core services,” Hazelhurst said.
In total, Patrick cut almost $23 million or 1.9 percent of the public safety department’s $1.2 billion fiscal year 2009 budget – much below the average cuts in the rest of state government.
Kevin Burke, secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said there was not much room to cut public safety because it is important to the public.
“There was gentler use of the scalpel than with other secretariats,” Burke said. “[Patrick] recognized that there are not a lot of alternatives in public safety.”
Nonetheless, some police departments felt the cuts deeper than others.
The Lowell Police Department, which is already 21 officers short of a full complement, will not be able to hire three new officers as planned, said Deputy Superintendent Deborah Friedl.
"In these times, it is certainly unlikely that we will be able to hire new officers any time soon," Friedl said.
Revere Police Chief Terence Reardon said he may have to cut someone from the payroll. Additionally, there will be no money to hire three recruits now training at the Massachusetts Police Academy.
Revere lost over $115,000 in state funding and will also have to eliminate all summertime bike patrols along Revere Beach, according to Reardon.
Patrick made deeper cuts – 75 percent or $2 million - to the Municipal Police Training Committee, which trains some 16,000 officers from local departments each year.
Officials hope the program will continue as normal. Gov. Patrick has proposed a new assessment on auto insurance to make up the state cuts. It must be approved by the Legislature.
“We don’t expect to lose anything and might even gain funding,” said Terrel Harris, spokesman for the public safety secretariat.
Perhaps the greatest impact of the cuts will be on the Criminal History Systems Board, which runs the state’s criminal information record system known as CORI, and maintains the Criminal Justice Information System, state law enforcement’s telecommunications network.
The board already faces a deficit; Burke said the $300,000 or 5 percent cut has pushed operations into a $1 million shortfall, which may force the board to shut down.
“If the [criminal board] goes down it will affect everyone working in public safety,” Burke said.
However they view this year’s cuts, police officials are worried future cuts would curtail their operations.
“We’re hoping this will be it,” said Hazelhurst of Worcester.
But Burke frets that more cuts may be on the way.
"My greater concern is for the future rather than the present," Burke said. "There is very little else to cut from."