Report: General Membership Meeting (2 of 3)

Chief Baker told the audience that his name came up for appointment to the POST commission soon after Chief Winn of Pittsfield announced his retirement. Of the POST commission’s nine members, one has to a be chief of police. Baker said that he was initially reluctant to accept the appointment but went forward with it because he believes in what POST is trying to accomplish. He noted much work needs to be done in developing and defining the role of POST in Massachusetts and he felt he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to influence its direction. 

Soon after his appointment he was confronted with the controversial posting of police disciplinary records for public view.  The rollout had a 5% error rate, which he found unacceptable.  He has been pressing the commission to achieve 100% accuracy.  The scope of the postings were also of a concern.  Disciplinary records outside of the commission’s area of responsibility were being posted and he has been vocal in expressing his concern about that issue as well.  He believes that ultimately a greater police presence on the commission is necessary.  He discussed the issue of suitability as it pertains to certification and recertification and he cautioned the audience that the Commission has wide latitude in rendering its determinations. With regard to a question about unfounded complaints being used for evaluation, he responded that everything can be considered in the certification process.   

Chief Baker shared some innovations, that he implemented in Framingham. He has instituted cutting edge policies and programs to address both mental health issues and training.  He is a strong advocate of co-response.   Police officers and mental health workers are paired together in Framingham on a 24/7basis.   He said that this was necessary because crisis never occurs between 9A and 5P Monday through Friday; “it happens at night, on weekends and during snow storms.” It is imperative to provide the service capability, when it is needed and this never occurs during normal business hours.”   The Chief addressed “officer wellness” and was critical of efforts to address it, saying that the term has “almost become a buzz word”.  He was skeptical about the legislative commitment to it, adding that despite mounting evidence of the stress and strain that exposure to crime, violence and human degradation has on officers over time, there is an unwillingness to offer a twenty-five year retirement for officers.  Instead, they have increased the retirement age.     

With regard to in-service treatment for wellness issues, he said the big issue is “who will pay”.  The Chief said that these programs must not be “tentative”, they need to be reliable and he credited the Boston Police and the Mass State Police for offering services that have met his department’s demand.   He noted that the worst thing that can happen is to begin a program and then have it fail. When this occurs any future attempt to address a problem will have lost credibility.   

Chief Baker offered a novel approach with regard to Field Training.  He noted that this phase of training is absolutely critical for new officers and said that it was imperative that they receive guidance and instruction from highly motivated, professional officers.  He instituted a policy where service as a Field Training Officer (FTO) is now a significant consideration for assignment to special units; such as, detectives.  The Chief shared that offering such incentives is necessary to attract quality officers to perform field training duties. 

The Chief became very animated on the issue of technology and policing.  He was critical of recent news reports in which several Massachusetts politicians were attacking ShotSpotter technology. Some were claiming that this technology was “racist” in that it contributed to over policing of minority neighborhoods.  Chief Baker advised that he had encountered similar pushback over his request to implement “plate reader” technology in Framingham in order to suppress shootings occurring in his city.  He said that those who are offering such criticism are in effect treating the members of communities of color with lesser worth. He charged that those who would deprive these communities of the technological means for improving their safety and a security are “racist themselves”.   The Chief’s message was warmly received drawing strong affirmations of support from the audience on several of the topics he raised.  He closed by saying that organizations like MAPLE are important and he urged us to continue to communicate our concerns to the commission so that they can become familiar with our perspective and concerns.