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Boston Police Department
Established 1631—1635
Jurisdiction Municipal
Sworn 2,015
Non-sworn 808
Stations 11
Police boats Yes (Harbor Patrol & Dive Team Divisions)
Superintendent-in-Chief Robert Dunford
Commissioner(s) Edward Davis

The Boston Police Department (BPD) has the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority A police officer (also known as a policeman or policewoman) is a warranted employee of a Police force. A police station (also called stationhouse) is a Building which serves as the Headquarters of a Police force or unit which serves a specific A police boat is usually a small sea-faring vessel that is used by Police agencies to patrol bodies of water Superintendent ( Supt) often shortened to "Super" is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations Commissioner is a designation that may be used for a variety of official positions especially referring to a high-ranked public (administrative or Police) official or an analogous It is the 20th largest department in the United States and is arguably the oldest police department in the country. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Contents

History

The first night watch was established in Boston in 1631 with an officer and six men. By 1635 the watch consisted of property owning males over 16 who were required to take turns at the duty without pay. In 1703 pay in the sum of 35 shillings a month was set. In 1796, the Watch was reorganized and the watchmen carried a badge of office, a rattle, and a six-foot pole, which was painted blue and white with a hook on one end and a bill on the other. The hook was used to grab fleeing criminals, and the rounded “bill” was used as a weapon. The rattle was a noise-making device used for calling for assistance.

In 1838 the Day Police was organized, having no connection with the Night Watch. The Day Police operated under the city marshal and had six appointed officers. In 1853, the Harbor Police was created in response to the increase in robberies of occupied vessels in the waters of Boston Harbor. The Port of Boston is a major Seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston. They were furnished with rowboats and armed with Colt revolvers. Colt's Manufacturing Company ( CMC --formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is a United States Firearms manufacturer founded in This was the first unit furnished with firearms.

The Boston Police Department was formally founded in May of 1854, at which point the Boston Watch and Day Police were disbanded, and the Boston Police department came into being. The old hook and bill, which had been in use for one hundred and fifty-four years, was replaced by a fourteen-inch club.

At the time of its founding, the Boston Police constituted the first paid, professional police service in the United States, but its roots can be even further traced back to the 18th century and Boston's appointment of an "Inspector of Police. " In 1854, the department was closely organized and modeled after Sir Robert Peel's (London) Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Robert Peel 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 &ndash 2 July 1850 was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April "Metropolitan Police" redirects here See also Metropolitan police.

1919 police strike

Main article: Boston Police Strike

On September 9, 1919, the Boston Police went on strike, signaling a dramatic shift in traditional labor relations and views on the part of the police, who were unhappy with stagnant wages and poor working conditions. The Boston Police Strike was a strike by the Boston police rank and file that began on September 9 1919 after Police Commissioner Edwin Upton Curtis refused to allow Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common When Police Commissioner Edwin Upton Curtis refused to allow the creation of a police union, 1,117 BPD officers went on strike. Edwin Upton Curtis (b Roxbury Massachusetts May 26, 1861 - d March 28, 1922) was an American politician from The city soon fell into riots and public chaos as over three-fourths of the department was no longer enforcing public peace. Governor Calvin Coolidge intervened to quash further chaos. John Calvin Coolidge Jr (July 4 1872 January 5 1933 was the thirtieth President of the United States (1923–1929 Coolidge announced that the police did not have the right to strike against the public safety and brought in the state national guard to restore order to Boston. The strike was broken, permanently, when Coolidge hired replacement police officers, many of whom were returning servicemen from World War I, and the former officers were refused re-entry into the department. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Ironically, the new officers hired in the wake of the strike received higher salaries, more vacation days and city-provided uniforms, the very demands the original strikers were requesting. The BPD strike set a precedent for further movements to stymie police unionization around the country.

Coolidge's intervention in the strike brought him national fame which, in turn, led to his nomination as Harding's running mate for Vice-President in the 1920 presidential election. Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2 1865 August 2 1923 was the twenty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death from a heart attack aged

Busing callout

In 1974, the BPD was involved in maintaining order during the public disturbance over court-ordered busing to racially-integrate Boston's public school system. Desegregation busing in the United States (also known as forced busing or busing) is the practice of attempting to integrate schools by assigning students to Unrest was particularly focused around schools, requiring the BPD to increase patrols and maintain readiness for much of the mid-1970s.

Milestones

On August 23, 1995 the BPD became the first police agency in the world to send fingerprint images to the FBI electronically. The first set of fingerprints were for a suspect arrested for armed robbery. Within hours of the receipt of the fingerprints, the FBI determined that the suspect had a number of prior arrests, including one for assault with intent to kill. [1]

Merger

On December 31, 2006, 31 Boston Municipal Police Officers were merged with the Boston Police. On January 1, 2007, the rest of the Muni's were either laid off or transferred to the city's Municipal Protective Services, which provides security to the city's Property Management Department.

The merger was planned in mid-2006 by Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Thomas Michael Menino (born December 27, 1942) is the mayor of Boston Massachusetts, United States and the city's first It was met with heavy protest from the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association. The BPPA's argument was that the Municipal officers not qualified to be Boston police officers due to lack of training, political patronage, nepotism and the fact that the Muni's were not civil service tested. [2]

2006 corruption case

In summer 2006, the department was rocked with scandal when officers Robert Pulido, Carlos Pizaro and Nelson Carrasquillo were arrested in Miami, Florida and charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Cocaine ( benzoylmethyl ecgonine) is a Crystalline Tropane Alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the Coca plant Pulido was also charged with hosting parties at which other BPD officers fraternized with drug dealers. [3]

The scandal came at a particularly bad time for the BPD, as Boston's homicide rate had increased drastically in 2006. The majority of these murders remain unsolved, a fact that many community leaders attribute to a lack of trust between the city's police and its residents.

2007 Mooninite Scare

Main article: 2007 Boston Mooninite Scare

The January 31, 2007 Boston bomb scare (Boston advertising security scare, Aqua-Gate or Boston Mooninite ad scare) occurred when 911 callers mistakenly identified small electronic promotions found throughout Boston and the surrounding cities of Cambridge and Somerville as possible explosives. On January 31, 2007, a bomb scare occurred when police officers mistakenly identified small electronic devices found throughout Boston and Cambridge Massachusetts is a City in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. Somerville (pronunciation ˈsʌmərvɪl is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, just north of Boston. Upon investigation by Boston Police and other agencies [4] the suspicious devices turned out to be battery-powered LED placards with an image of a cartoon character called a "mooninite" used in a guerrilla marketing campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters, a film based on the animated television series Aqua Teen Hunger Force (ATHF) on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim late-night programming block. Aqua Teen Hunger Force (also known as ATHF) is an American Animated television series shown on Cartoon Network as part The term guerrilla marketing was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing as an unconventional system of promotions on a very Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is an Animated film based on the Adult Swim animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U Aqua Teen Hunger Force (also known as ATHF) is an American Animated television series shown on Cartoon Network as part Adult Swim, (usually stylized swim with its signature square Brackets, is an adult-oriented Television network sharing channel space with Cartoon [4]

The BPD's handling of this incident has been criticized by Boston residents: "We all thought it was pretty funny," said one student. "The majority of us recognize the difference between a bomb and a Lite-Brite," said another. [5] One resident said that the police response was "silly and insane", and that "We’re the laughing stock". [6]

BPD today

Boston Police Department kiosk in Downtown Crossing
Boston Police Department kiosk in Downtown Crossing

The Boston Police Department currently has approximately 2,015 officers and 808 civilian personnel, with patrol services covering an area of 89. In the Mediterranean Basin and the Near East, a kiosk ( Persian کوشک Kushk Arabic كشك Koshk Turkish Köşk Downtown Crossing is a shopping district in Boston Massachusetts, located due east of the Boston Common and west of the Financial District. 6 mi² (232. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. 1 km²) and a population of 589,141. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The BPD currently requires all employed officers hired since 1995 to live within Boston city-limits, and this has led to calls for pay raises to help officers meet the city's high cost of living. The BPD currently is divided into 11 neighborhood districts spread across the city, each supervised by a Captain.

The Boston Police Department is organized into bureaus under the Office of the Police Commissioner. The Chief of Staff, media liaisons and the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) also operate out of the Commissioner's office.

The Bureau of Field Services (BFS) consists of the 11 police districts and Special Operations. The Boston Police Special Operations Unit is a specialized unit within the Boston Police Department responsible for combined duties involving traffic enforcement It is the largest bureau and its main responsibility is tactical patrol and crime prevention. The Bureau of Investigative Services (BIS) consists of the Homicide Unit, Drug Control Unit, Family Justice Center, the Youth Violence Strike Force (gang unit) and Forensic Science Division. Superintendent Paul Joyce is the current head of the BIS.

Other bureaus include the Bureau of Administrative Services, led by a civilian, Christopher Fox, and the Bureau of Professional Development, which encompasses the Training and Education Division, headed by Superintendent Robert Harrington.

The Boston Police rank structure is as follows:

Deputy Superintendents and above serve at the pleasure of the Police Commissioner and in the case of the Commissioner, the Mayor.

Boston's Police Commissioner was Kathleen O'Toole, the first woman to serve in that position, until she resigned from her commissionership on June 30, 2006 to take a new position as Inspector General of the Irish national police force, Garda Siochána. Kathleen M O'Toole is the Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate set up to audit Ireland's national police force the Garda Síochána and report to Ireland's Minister Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ga '''''Garda Síochána na hÉireann''''' (ˈgaːrdə ʃiːˈxaːnə nə ˈheːɾʲən Irish for "Peace Guard of Ireland" often rendered Upon her departure, Albert Goslin was appointed acting commissioner.

The current Boston Police Commissioner is Edward Davis, who was Chief of Police in Lowell, MA prior to this appointment. His appointment to the Boston Police Department brought in a renewed era of policing in the city of Boston.


Demographics

By Sex:

By Race:

See also

References

  1. ^ Chapter II Supporting Law Enforcement in the Community
  2. ^ According to Pat Rose. 37 Boston Municipal Officers don't qualify for merger
  3. ^ Boston Globe, July 22, 2006.
  4. ^ a b Smalley, Suzanne; Mishra, Raja. "Froth, fear, and fury", The Boston Globe, The New York Times Company, 2007-02-01. The Boston Globe (and Boston Sunday Globe) is the most widely circulated daily Newspaper in Boston and in New England, Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Retrieved on 2007-02-02. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor  
  5. ^ Blown out of proportion - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News
  6. ^ Young Bostonians think city overreacted - Security - MSNBC.com
  7. ^ Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers

External links

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