BOSTON – Boston City Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy will be filing a hearing order next Wednesday, August 7th to discuss Boston Police Department (BPD) staffing levels. During his time on the Council, Councilor Flynn has consistently advocated for hiring hundreds of additional police officers every year for the next decade to address long standing issues of understaffing. The hearing will seek to bring in officials and key stakeholders to discuss strategies to address this issue.
The Boston Police Department has long faced challenges in understaffing, overstretched resources, and forced overtime for police officers, as well as looming retirements. This not only impacts the public safety of our city, but also the physical and emotional well-being of our officers and their families. Police understaffing is also exacerbated by voluntary retirement and resignations, as resignations rose from one in 2018 to thirty-six in 2022, and voluntary retirement rose from seventeen in 2018 to 127 in 2022. This means that current officers are mandated to fill in the gaps with forced overtime, which leads to burnout in officers, and potentially negatively impacts their ability to serve.
Moreover, the Boston Municipal Code mandates that after July 1st, 1980, the number of Police Officers on the force shall, at no time, be less than 2,500. It is therefore imperative that the Boston Police Department consistently recruits and retains police officers to stay comfortably above that number, as well as fostering an environment that allows officers to feel valued while building strong relationships with residents through community policing.
“Having sufficient police staffing levels is critical to help make the streets of Boston safer for all neighbors, and to improve the health and quality of life of our dedicated police officers. The issues of understaffing, mandated overtime and overstretched resources will not be resolved without a commitment to hire hundreds of officers every year for an extended period of time,” said Councilor Flynn.“ In my opinion, it is not okay for officers to be mandated to work excessive hours. This is a public health and public safety issue that we need to address for our residents, our police officers, and their families.”
For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 and [email protected].
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Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
