The Boston Housing Authority created the Department of Public Safety in the late 1970’s in response to the security needs of tenants and managers. Due to the high density of the development population, city police services were not adequate for the times. Six civilian investigators were hired to investigate crime and other incivilities in public housing property, interact with Boston Police district officers and pursue civil and criminal complaints against tenants.
By 1983, the Department began sending the investigators through the MCJTC Basic Police Recruit Academies in an effort to further train and professionalize the unit which had grown to forty-two investigators.
Throughout the 1980’s BHA Police officers worked in concert with the Boston Police Department TEAM Police Unit to provide a police presence in Boston’s Public Housing Developments.
In 1994, the concept of “Community Policing” crept into the consciousness of police executives around the country. Community Policing was embraced by the Boston Police Department and introduced to the city’s Public Housing Developments.
At the heart of Community Policing is the Patrol Officer, working in a community, forging relationships and partnerships within the community to help identify and solve problems with the community’s assistance and support. When defining expectations and responsibilities of the BHA Community Police Officer, emphasis is placed on the following:
|
- Foot and vertical patrols of the properties' buildings and hallways
- High-visibility and regular interaction with residents
- Attending private conferences with managers and residents
- Initiation of eviction proceedings under the one-strike policy.
- Communication with youth workers and Maintenance Superintendents.
- Attendance at community meetings
- Collaboration with the youth workers to organize and participate in activities for the emerging pre-teen and early-teen populations, such as field trips, basketball leagues, and mentoring programs.
|
The primary function of the BHA Police is to supplement the efforts of the Boston Police in the provision of police services to the City’s twenty-seven family housing developments.br>
Under the auspices of the Boston Police Department, Special Police Division, the Boston Housing Authority Police Officers provide police services to Boston Housing Authority family and elderly developments. Together the department has created partnerships with community residents, BHA residents, crime watch groups, property managers, city agencies, courts, various police agencies, social service agencies, youth workers, etc., to engage in a collaborative crime prevention/problem-solving, fear reduction effort. However, it is important to note that the Boston Police are the first respondents to emergency calls from BHA residents and continue to investigate crimes and complaints from BHA residents as the department would for any other resident in the City of Boston. Thus, the BHA Police serve as an enhancement to the services provided by Boston Police.
In order to coordinate and enhance the delivery of services, BHA developments are broken down geographically into zones. As part of this initiative, the BHA Police Department has organized its internal structure to fit into the authority-wide management initiative to decentralize services to the development level. Patrol Sergeants and Officers are assigned within each region. Each development has a development based community police group which consist of the permanently assigned community police officer(s) and tenant task force. In addition to informal daily meetings, this group meets formally each month to define priorities, devise strategies, resolve problems, and evaluate past problem- solving efforts and coordinate activities. This regional system is part of a holistic approach to combating drug and crime problems across the City.
|
