Difference between revisions 121842219 and 121842220 on dewiki

{{Infobox Police Department
| name            = Boston Police Department
| logo            = [[Image:Boston Police patch.jpg|250px]]
| motto           = 
| established     = 1631—1635
| jurisdiction    = Municipal
| sworn           = 2,015
| non-sworn       = 808
(contracted; show full)cated foot or bicycle patrol officers.On Harvard Avenue the department's effort to keep the same Police Officer in the same neighborhood paid off tremenduously. One aspect of Community Policing program is for the Police Officers on patrol to come up with new and effective ways to resolve concerns or problems in their area. By keeping the same Police Officer in the same neighborhood the department allowed creative problem solving methods to be utilized by motivated Police Officers.

In Allston, Police 
Officer Relerford developed the Person of Concern List or "[[POC List]]". A list was developed of only those indiviuals that impacted the Police Officers area of patrol in a negative way. Their impact had to be frequent and correspond to the hours or shift the Police Officer patrolled primarily. The list was then prioritized by the type of crime and how frequent the Police Officer either received complainants or interacted with the POC List member through patrol. For example:  If a Police Officer routinely walked through a particular intersection during patrol and the same person is standing there each day, several hours a day outside a liquor store without just cause there could be a problem. This observation, coupled with reports of alleged drug dealing and conversations with oOnce an individual(s)are identified and listed then ther Police Officers about this indiviual would make this person a viable target for the POC List. Once an individual(s)are identified and listed then the Police Officer would focus his attention toward the top 5-10 POC List memb would focus his attention toward the top 5-10 POC List members and use every legal and reasonable means necessary to rid the area of the problem or concersn. Everything possible must be learned about these individualPOC List members, including criminal habits, schedules, family, friends and their association with other POC List members. Then they could be engaged effectively. Engagement can happen at anytime depending on the circumstances. The engagement is crucial since most drug dealers carry weapons, knives or may have access to either. It's imperative to be professional. A Police Officer would engage using normal or practical patrol skills for conducting a felony or misdemeantor threshold inquiry. It is important that your target is aware that you initiated this threshold inquiry and why. The professional relationship you develope with this person from here on will determined how easy your target is to erradicate. This is usually where your interpersonal communication skills and job experience will come into playhave a large factor, but not necessarily the deciding factor.  

Not all POC List engagements will be conducted this way. Some members will leave on their own after engagement once or twice, others may require a telephone call to probation, transportation to the hospital for detox, section 12 [pink slip] by family, even increased indiviual police presence or an arrest. It varies widely on the area and what problem the individual is causing. Police Officer Relerford, an 18 year veteran of the Boston Police Department patrolled these areas and utilized his POC Listincreased indiviual police presence, social service intervention or an arrest. It varies widely on the area and what problem the individual is causing. The number of POC List members has ranged from as high as twenty-five in 2004, when the list was first developed to as low as twofive in 2008. Members of the POC List who were once near the bottom have moved up to the top. Those at the top have either moved elsewhere, were sentenced to jail, rehabilitated or died. 
 
As a result of this effective manner of patrol public drinking, loitering and homelessness is no longer an acceptable social behavior at those specific locations of concern. It may still exist, but has been minimized. Graffiti still remains a huge problem. The end result of this type of policing are fewer 9-1-1 calls, fewer Citizen Conversation Complaints(CCC) and once acceptable social behaviors that occurred at the busy intersetion of Harvard Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue are no longer tolerated by the community. Still other problems may arise and new faces will always appear. It was only with the motivation, skills and experience of police supervisors that their subbordinates can institute effective ways to engage problems in their area of patrol and it is the willingness of motivated Police personell that will identify these problem makers before they escalate.

== Demographics ==
*Male: 87%
*Female: 13%
*White: 68%
*African-American/Black: 24%
*Hispanic: 6%
*Asian: 2%<ref>[http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/lemas00.pdf Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers]</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts]]

==References==
*[[Francis Russell]]. [http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1744 ''A City in Terror: Calvin Coolidge and the 1919 Boston Police Strike''] (Boston: Beacon Press, 1975).
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ci.boston.ma.us/police/default.asp Boston Police Department official web site]
*[http://www.bpdnews.com Boston Police Department blog, BPDNews.com]
*[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/04/13/police_union_to_fight_merger/ Boston Globe Article on the Merger]

[[Category:Government of Boston, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Municipal police departments of the United States]]

[[es:Departamento de Policia de Boston]]