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Crossing a blue line: BPD wants to take over patrols along South Boston waterfront from staties
By adamg on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 7:58am
The Globe reports the push comes after Monday's Carson Beach incident:
“They're perfectly suited to do a lot of important jobs in policing," [Commissioner Ed] Davis said of State Police. "They’re not as well suited to doing community policing in the neighborhoods in Boston."
However, Davis doesn't want authority over the Esplanade, also under state control. And the VFW and West Roxbury parkways weren't even mentioned in the article, even though they are lined with houses - and Davis cited domestic disputes along Day Boulevard that BPD gets called on but then can't do anything about as one reason to seek legislative approval for the shift.
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Comments
IOW
"If we can't do it from a car, we don't want to do it at all"
Vice versa
On Park Drive, the Fenway, Boylston adjacent to the Back Bay Fens and so on, the SP have jurisdiction re traffic and parking enforcement, car break-ins, anti-social behavior in or on the street etc. BPD does the sidewalk, residences etc. Presumably the same is true on Day Blvd and elsewhere.
I've observed that, as a practical matter, troopers and cops will disregard the jurisdictions when they see an urgent need to do so.
my two cents
I think the State Police as a whole needs to be reformed a little. I always wonder when I go to states like Florida and I see all the differnet types of police agencies and whether it is cost effective or not (Miami Police, Dade County Sherriffs, State Police, Highway Patrol). Do they need the take home cars? Does any city or state employee need a take home car?
I do have to say that troopers as a whole are better street officers than most municipal officers. In my opinion, when they are on patrol they are more prepared and better trained than your average city/town cop, and they are in better shape and care about their appearance more as well. On the other hand, many of them have that ahpha-male BS army attitude that you don't need when dealing with the public.
You need some sort of police force to handle highway patrol. You need this patrol on roads like 128, 90, 93, etc. You don't need this highway patrol for the VFW parkway, Sturrow Drive, Hammond Pond Parkway etc.
You also want some sort of police force in charge of speciality areas like the beaches, parks, etc. But you want this police force to be trained in dealing with this as well. Your average State trooper probably isn't going to be a good fit for this job, but if the State police set apart a special unit for this (which they can do), it can happen. Hiring troopers off an overtime or detail list probably isn't the answer.
As far as the details go, I don't know how that much would play out in this scenerio. Many of these parkway work sites I see probaby don't need a detail, (cop cruiser in one lane 100 yards behind the work crew in the same lane). Im sure the sight of the cruiser slows some cars down, but a lot of those details are not necessary in my opinion.
More like Menino wants to control press releases on Boston crime
Is there any doubt that these comments from Davis are being engineered by his creator, Mumbles Menino, who publicly winced at the site of troopers with "black gloves and batons" even though Boston officers had the same gear? Or are we to believe that after many years in office, Commissioner Davis is just getting around to this now?
No doubt this is all about Menino's fury at being unable to manipulate the State Police press release that led to the local news coverage and Drudge banner headline going worldwide. For Menino, the thought of tourists skipping Boston and the loss of their tens of millions in hotel and meals taxes that fund his largesse, is just too much to bear. Also, Menino surely feels the need to control any press in Southie that might harm his candidate in the highly competitive city council race there.
Adam, raises a great point. If Davis suddenly wants Carson Beach, why not the rest of the parks and roads in Boston that MSP patrols? Shame on Davis for putting his requirement to please Menino above his integrity. A rather large puppet on a string.
I raised the question, so I'll answer it
In general, you don't have to worry about large crowds of young people descending on the VFW Parkway, not even at Hynes Field - and even less so on the West Roxbury Parkway. The vast majority of calls are for MV accidents and traffic issues, stuff the State Police are perfectly equipped to handle, as opposed to trying to defuse a potentially explosive situation on a hot summer day.
In contrast, well, Monday at Carson Beach.
And yet, yes, it seems kind of silly to seek jurisdiction over one state property but not the other (and let's not forget the Esplanade has certainly had its share of problems over the past couple of years - specifically, the serial attacker who's gone uncaught so far).
As for the mayor being concerned about Boston's reputation and tourism? You bet! That's just what I want my mayor to do, given the importance of tourism to the local economy. Does that mean squelching bad press through jackbooting the local media, or by defusing situations before they get out of control?
In a Carson Beach situation, the mayor can no longer do the former, even if he wanted to (which I don't buy) - there are now too many alternate outlets for news like that to get out (I first heard about it all via e-mail and Twitter - from people affected by the road shutdowns and even a Boston firefighter). But what if police had been able to just arrest the troublemakers and not shut down an entire area? Odds are we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Actually
The state police is short staffed for their regular patrols. If there is a car crash at the VFW at Lagrange, a trooper from the Milton barracks has to come out and do the report (if needed). What happens is the Boston police/fire/ems shows up, and the trooper will take about 10-25 minutes depending on the severity of the crash.
But the relationship between the two agencies isn't as strained as this article seems to make it out to be. Having extra troopers on the streets anywhere in Boston makes it safer for everyone, and the staties usually have a few guys working with the gang unit, comm relations unit etc....
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Peter you (or someone) mentioned this on the last Carson Beach thread, but I find it hard to believe.
When I drive to-from work, I see 2-3 troopers at neponset circle. Theres usually another one in a car at the columbia circle, 1-2 on Quincy Shore Drive along Wolly beach, and generally another one driving on day blvd or elsewhere (I saw 7 troopers last night, including 2 on traffic detail at neponset circle).
You might see them.
But that doesn't mean that they are assigned to take 911 calls in their areas. I'm just telling you what I heard about the State staffing from various troopers. I'm sure O-FISH-L can give you an official account.