Executive Director’s Report
Chief A. Wayne Sampson, (Ret.)

As we reach the mid point of summer, it would be nice if everyone could relax a little and enjoy the rest of the summer, but that is not to be. Even though you have new budgets, most municipalities are working with less officers, older equipment, expired contracts, and increasing employee frustration. Many departments that did not purchase cruisers last year are in critical need of replacements. We are hearing rumors that there could be additional local aid cuts at the end of this year (right after the elections).

Although we thought that the end of the legislative year would bring some relief from Beacon Hill activity, this is not the case. The failure to come to agreement on the casino issue only keeps the debate alive and creates a topic for public discussion. From our standpoint, we are grateful to all those legislators who supported our position on jurisdiction. We appreciate that the committees agreed with us on concurrent jurisdiction. The sad point is that this should never have been an issue in the first place. We will watch closely to make sure that there is no attempt to change the language in behind the scenes negotiations as work continues on a compromise. There are other important legislative matters moving quickly:

The Police Identification project is up and running. L1 has been awarded the contract to manufacture the ID’s and MCOPA has been awarded the contract to administer the distribution of the ID/s to your departments. It is anticipated that the tests sites will be up in early October and we will go state wide the following month. Unfortunately, our legislation to allow EOPSS to set the standard has not passed yet so we will be working on our own to develop the information on the ID’s. Deputy Bill Brooks of Wellesley has been the point person for several years on this project, so I am sure we will work out this small detail in a quick manner.

A very positive bill that was part of the Municipal relief package was Mutual Aid legislation that allows law enforcement from across the state to have legal authority to assist any municipality during an extended event when resources are scares. The legislation requires municipalities to “opt in” to the legislation but it is the corner stone of the states Law Enforcement Mobilization Plan that has been worked for several years.

The MCOPA continues to participate on the Governors Police Education Committee. We have met a number of times and the diverse membership of the committee continues to demonstrate the variety of opinions. While some are interested in the payment for those that are entitled to the career incentive pay now, there is a recognition that the reimbursement program as we know it is over. We can gain temporary wins through the courts but the end result is that we will lose the war on this one. We have to look to the future to find a program that is appropriate to have quality police officers that will enhance the professionalism of all officers as we struggle to improve our image with the public. Unfortunately, the old “Quinn Program” was an opportunity for our municipalities to increase our pay through state aid rather than accepting their responsibility to pay our officers an appropriate wage at the municipal level.

This whole issue of police education has brought about a strange set of discussions that has landed us in controversy. There are a number of professionals that do not believe we should have a mandatory education requirement for entry level policing. The Massachusetts Major City Chiefs Association released a white paper report entitled “Police Personnel Standards for the 21st Century”. As all of their publications, it was thoughtfully researched and well written. Its recommendations will certainly cause debate on many personnel matters as we go forward. This debate goes to the heart of the number of police departments that have recently dropped out of “Civil Service”. This is not an issue that we should step back from. There was an interesting report issued by the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research entitled Toward a High-Performance Workplace: Fixing Civil Service in Massachusetts and is posted on our web site under Latest News for all chiefs to read. We recognize that HRD has suffered major budget cuts for several years and they are forced by existing law to enforce hiring practices that are completely inappropriate in today’s work force. These antiquated rules would never be tolerated in the private sector. Under the HRD umbrella is the independent Civil Service Commission that has made great improvements under the current Chairman. However, as we have discussed in the past, an inappropriate number of poor decisions have forced our municipalities to hire inappropriate people and retain persons who should have been terminated. With the number of municipalities discussing leaving Civil Service, the debate will continue for some time.

There was an article in the Boston Globe that caught my interest this weekend. Not because of the importance of the article itself, that reduces the number of paramedics that are required to be in an ambulance, but for a completely unrelated issue. Fire Fighters President Bob McCarthy was interviewed and he discussed how upset he was that this bill could be passed without anyone’s knowledge or public comment. Now, anyone that knows Bob is well aware that if there is any issue on Beacon Hill that affect the fire service, Bob knows about and he has an opinion on it. Chief Cunningham and I read the legislative news service every day looking for new bills or movement on over 200 bills that we are tracking. It is unfortunate that we have to spend so much time looking for legislation that is specifically designed to make our jobs harder.

On a positive note, the MPCT Study Commission has issued its report and recommends finding a funding source for police training. A number of news media outlets picked up the story and have been writing articles on the poor conditions of police training in Massachusetts.

Another sign of the deepening fiscal crisis in Massachusetts was the recent announcement of court closings. There are a number of schedules public hearings on these closures and you should make sure that you let your position be known publicly.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Jimmy Fund Walk.



Chief A. Wayne Sampson, Ret
Executive Director