Union news and information along with law enforcement related articles and websites

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Boston city councilor ducks four more public safety votes amid attendance scrutiny 

By GAYLA CAWLEY, Boston Herald, April 13, 2024.

A Boston city councilor with a record of ducking key public safety votes and overseeing a budget last year that sought to cut millions from the police department left the room this week to avoid voting on four police contract funding requests.

Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was present for the Wednesday City Council meeting, but was noticeably absent from a slew of votes that largely centered around approving funding for a $22.2 million five-year contract the city and a police union representing detectives agreed to last month.

Her absence was particularly notable given the recent scrutiny around Fernandes Anderson’s tendency to miss key public safety votes, following her call last week, later withdrawn, for attendance to be considered as a key metric for assessing the performance of councilors, while minutes reviewed by the Herald show she has missed more meetings than her colleagues since taking office in January 2022.

View the article here.

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Boston City Council Addresses Officer Wellness and Community Safety Grants 

thelocallens.org April 12, 2024

Meeting Overview:In a recent Boston City Council meeting, focus was placed on grant dockets aimed at combating gang violence and enhancing the well-being of Boston Police Department (BPD) officers. The meeting covered three main grants: the Senator Charles E. Shannon Junior Community Safety Initiative, the Boston Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, and the Critical Incident Stress Management Grant.

The Senator Charles E. Shannon Junior Community Safety Initiative grant, totaling $1,754,475, is designed to combat gang violence through an array of prevention, intervention, law enforcement prosecution, and reintegration programs. This grant supports regional and multi-disciplinary strategies to address gang violence and includes various nonprofits and programs targeting young people committing violence and families affected by violence.

The Boston Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative grant of $44,100, awarded by the United States Department of Justice, focuses on reducing community violence in specific Boston areas by engaging returning citizens in programming that caters to their needs and strengthens support from family caregivers and the community. The Boston Police Department’s role in this grant includes providing necessary crime data for planning and implementation and hiring an intern to support grant activities.

The third grant discussed was the FY 24 CISM Grant of $84,000, aimed at funding access to critical incident stress management and peer support programs to address mental wellness and suicide prevention for BPD officers. This grant is particularly noteworthy for its focus on officers’ mental health. It encompasses an app-based training program for officers and training certified by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, which covers suicide prevention, addressing addiction, trauma, and stress intervention. The program aims to mitigate trauma exposure and prevent post-traumatic stress injuries, disorder, depression, anxiety, and ultimately, suicide among officers. It includes training in group crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and overcoming trauma to addiction.

View the article here.

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Wu says unresolved Boston police union contracts weigh heavy on her conscience 

WGBH, Zoe Mathews, October 10, 2023.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told Boston Public Radio on Tuesday she hopes “with every fiber of [her] being” to have Boston Police union contracts negotiated and resolved by the end of the year or early into 2024.

“That’s been one point in my conscience that has been sitting pretty heavy,” she said. “This has been far too long that our police officers have been without a functioning contract. They deserve it, their families deserve it, and the residents also deserve to know we are moving forward with the parameters that our city needs.”

View the news article here.

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‘Blue Envelope Program' aims to help police better connect with drivers with autism 

NBCBOSTON.COM, By Eli Rosenberg and Kaitlin McKinley Becker • Published March 9, 2024/em>

>The bill passed in the Massachusetts Senate and is currently in the House, but the program has already been adopted by some police departments in the state like Marion and Needham

There is a new program that has already been adopted in some Massachusetts towns that aims to assist drivers who have autism spectrum disorder and police officers during things like traffic stops that are usually a stressful time.

As most of us know, getting pulled over by the police can be nerve-wracking -- the flashing lights, the anxiety, the sense of trouble... that's a lot. And for those with autism, being pulled over adds some extra complexities.

The "Blue Envelope Program" is aiming to change that.

The blue envelope holds a driver's license, registration and insurance card and can be handed to a police officer during a traffic stop. Then on the outside of the envelope, there's room to write specific instructions that can inform officers the best way to communicate with the driver, as well as share information about any triggers, impairments and the driver's diagnosis.

View the news article here.

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FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 

Provided by the FBI Training Division

The Bulletin accepts articles on virtually any topic of interest to the criminal justice community. To cover the widest-possible spectrum of subjects, the magazine generally does not publish articles on similar topics within a 12-month period or those previously featured or currently under consideration by other magazines.

Articles can be searched here.

To access the entire website go here.

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