The Brookline Police Department has released its mid-year review, and Patch is here to breakdown the 54-page document for readers. The review, which is officially submitted by Chief Daniel O’Leary to Melvin Kleckner, the Town Administrator, is available for the public to read.
In the opening memo, O’Leary noted the following:
- The expansion of racial diversity on the force, particularly with graduation of ten new recruit officers, consisting of four women, two Asian officers, one Latino officer, and an African-American officer.
- Lieutenant June Murphy was commemorated. Murphy died unexpectedly in May after having served Brookline since 1984, and passed many milestones, like becoming the first female sergeant to earn the rank of Lieutenant in 2003, and as the founder of Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement (MAWLE) in 2007.
Crime statistics have been compiled for the department for Jan. 1- June 30, 2017. The department claims that crime in Brookline is down more than 70% in the last 20 years.
Crime Statistics:
- 348 Part A crimes, defined as murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglery, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. This is a 4% decrease from the first half of 2016.
- There were no murders in the first half of 2017. Brookline has had no murders since 2007.
- For the first half of 2017, violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery and assault) are down 14% compared to the first half of 2016 (75 in 2017 compared to 87 in 2016).
- In summary, assaults are down 15% burglaries are down 36%, larceny has increased by 3%, rapes and robberies remain the same as the first half of 2016.
- The Domestic Violence Unit was involved in the investigation of 43 cases during the first
six months of 2017.
Traffic Enforcement Statistics
- There were 8,435 moving violations issued to motorists on Brookline’s roads.
- 57,587 parking tickets were issued, totaling $1.8 million in fines and penalties.
- Officers responded to nearly 35,000 calls.
How Are Police Dealing With Racial Controversy?
Police are holding ongoing trainings on justice and how to police during protests. In a trip coordinated by a training division and the Brookline Police Department Diversity Committee, Brookline Police department members took a tour of the Museum of African American History and the West End House Museum. The training also included “a discussion of forced busing in Boston in the 1970s and the abortion protests in Brookline of the 80s-90s and how police, despite their personal views on the subject, were on the front line of enforcement.”
Social Media Visibility
The Department tweets 40-50 times a month. An additional three hundred people have followed the Facebook page, and an additional 300 on Instagram and 400 on Twitter. The website had 36,000 visitors in the first six months of the year.
Special Response Team Training
The team was activated for the 121st Boston Marathon, and for a mutual aid operation to the Chelsea Police Department. The Department is also going through re-accreditation processes with the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission .
Department Update on Dealing with the Mentally Ill and Vulnerable Populations
The department is using a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) to assist people with mental illness, drug/alcohol dependency and/or other factors which require a social service response, in the hopes that they can reduce the re-occurrence of a law enforcement intervention. The national CIT Model’s goal is to have 25% of a police department CIT trained. At this time, approximately 52% of the Brookline Police Department’s Officers (64), from all 5 divisions and one civilian victims-witness advocate, are CIT trained.
