Boston Suspends Most Private Police Officers ( Rule 400 & 400A)
Boston MA June 27 2021
The City of Boston Massachusetts has long had a group of law enforcers who kept the city safer.
In fact, they’ve been around since 1898!
Special police officers augment the Boston City Police and respond to quality-of-life issues and prevent and deter crime.
These are sworn law enforcement officers who work for both private entities and city departments such as park rangers, the Boston Public Health Commission Police, Boston Housing Authority Police, Boston Public Schools Police, Boston Municipal Protective Services (formerly Boston Municipal Police), Boston Park Rangers, Boston Code Enforcement, and Boston Transportation Department parking enforcement.
They are officers employed by hospitals such as Tufts Medical Center and Boston Medical Center and they are also employed by a multitude of private companies that provide services to businesses, hotels, entertainment complexes, housing communities, some small colleges, and homeless shelters.
Some of the officers patrol high crime areas, housing complexes, and problem areas in the city while providing all law enforcement duties, most armed and all with arrest authority.
For the most part, they have all worked well with local police, and have been credited with police call volumes and reducing crime.
But that will all end on July 1st, 2021, as part of the “Reimagining Policing.”
On July 1, 2021, the city of Boston will become less safe than it is today when the city suspends Boston Police Rules 400 and 400A. This will mean approximately 1,200 officers will lose their police powers.
Boston Police Licensing Division sent letters out to SPOs telling them that due to a lack of training, their licenses will be suspended.
The city gave the 1,200 people less than 2 weeks’ notice that they might be out of a job or reclassified as a security officer depending on their employer’s intentions.
This will strain the already thin resources of the Boston Police Department, increase crime, increase call volume, and put the city back into the chaos that many of us saw in the 1970’s and 1980’s, at what cost?
The city knew this was coming almost 4 months ago and sat on this. They did not give SPOs time to provide training certificates, seek additional training, or even seek out new employment.
But not all Special Police Officers will be affected by this ruling.
Many other officers have complied with the training requirements done at the Massachusetts State Police academy and will not have their police powers canceled.
Some public city departments and hospitals might be eligible to start their own police agency and hire regular officers who have completed the 800 basic laws enforcement academy.
At this time, there is no indication as to whether the ruling has been suspended, or permanently revoked or whether it might be reinstated at some time in the future.
