Boston School Police Quietly Phased Out from All BPS Schools
Boston MA July 19 2021 Though very few know, the long-standing Boston School Police have been phased out this month, losing their arrest powers and most other powers on July 1 due to the State Police Reform Act – and they will now be known as the Office of Safety Services.
These officers were part of the 400 Special Police Officers (SPOs) across the city working in various capacities, including as Boston Common Park Rangers, Boston Medical Center hospital police, Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) police, and private security firms such as Back Bay-based Longwood Security that has long-patrolled the South End’s Villa Victoria housing community, have also lost their police powers as a result of the Police Reform Act.
When Rule 400 was canceled recently, all Boston Public Schools lost their law enforcement personnel.
As such, the Boston School Police are the most vocal so far on the matter and have been in place for several decades.
While they were not armed and were instituted as a mediation group to keep regular Boston Police out of the schools, Boston School Police had arrest powers and could carry handcuffs and produce Police Reports and could also remove those trespassing on school grounds.
The Boston Public Schools (BPS) said it had been working on a plan to implement the Office of Safety Services and to phase out the Boston School Police since May. They said Supt. Brenda Cassellius mentioned it in her report on May 12 and June 16.
However, it has not been well-publicized and it appears parents have not been informed of the change yet.
“BPS is committed to providing safe, welcoming and culturally affirming environments for our students and staff,” read a statement from the schools. “Since September 2019, Superintendent Cassellius and her team have been working to address student safety policies that have adversely impacted students in our schools. A key component of this work is the new student data privacy policy that was approved in September 2020.
“The BPS is already reimagining the role of the Office of Safety Services,” it continued. “The ultimate goal of this ongoing work is to promote school safety while cultivating trust in the community, building strong relationships, and placing a greater focus on intervention and
BPS said the Police Reform Act impacted the ability of local police, in this case the Boston Police Department (BPD), to issue police licenses to SPOs like the Boston School Police patrolmen and superior officers. The change in the law removed their authority to make arrests, and write/access police reports. Now, in the event that police are needed, BPS said it will be calling Boston Police to respond instead of the School Police.
Those on the School Police are now known as Safety Services, and they now wear polo shirts and not uniforms, and no longer have cruisers or carry handcuffs.
BPS said they have been meeting with Safety Services staff over the summer to develop a plan that promotes school safety through relationship building and intervention strategies that are not dependent on officers having police powers.
The district also said the relationships built by officers over the years will provide a foundation for the Safety Services to move to their next phase of work, being mentors, coaches and valued members of the school community.
