Starting this weekend, 40 Boston police officers will be temporarily transferred from specialized units to work in districts as the department deals with a staffing shortage.
According to a memo sent to all personnel and obtained by NBC10 Boston, it is part of a plan to relieve officers who have been bearing the brunt of the staffing shortages.
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“We have to use the resources we have available in order to make an impact today,” Boston police commissioner Michael Cox wrote in the memo that was sent to all sworn personnel.
The 40 officers will be transferred from their non-district assignments starting August 19 and will complete 20 tours of duty. The non-district assignments include units like drug, gang and traffic units.
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“It does make those units that are already short that much shorter,” Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association said.
Calderone said he is not surprised it has come to this, but it is only a short-term solution.
“We understand what he’s attempting to do, but it really is a band-aid on a much bigger problem that requires a tourniquet. We are bleeding officers,” Calderone said.
Calderone said one way to hire more police officers is to abolish the city’s residency requirement, but Boston mayor Michelle Wu said she is standing by it.
“I think it’s important that city jobs are creating opportunity and wealth in our neighborhoods,” mayor Wu said.
Boston City Council President Ed Flynn said with staffing so low and housing prices in the city sky-high, he is open to hearing more.
“I think we have to have a serious discussion about residency. It’s having a major impact on public safety and causing quality of life issues. I’m not blaming anybody, but I want us to come together as a city and acknowledge that it’s a problem that needs to be addressed,” Flynn said.
As cities across the country face similar shortages, some have disbanded specialized units at their police departments. Commissioner Cox said there are no plans to do that in Boston.
