Gloucester is known nationwide as an innovator in policing. Our groundbreaking drug intervention program,now known nationwide as “PAARI,” short for Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative, began just six years ago by our own Gloucester Police Department. Today, Gloucester’s PAARI model has been replicated in 35 states and over 600 police departments, and is responsible for getting tens of thousands of Americans into treatment.
We need more of that kind of innovative thinking now because there’s a lot more to be done.
As America’s trust in its police declines to all time lows, the country is re-examining how our heavily armed and armored model for public safety responders can be reshaped to be fairer, more open, less violent, and safer for all concerned.
From California to Texas, New York, and here in Massachusetts, concerned Americans are asking questions such as:
For example, one innovative program on the West Coast sends trained mental health workers and EMTs as first responders on these mental health and substance abuse calls. Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS program has had impressive results, not least of which has been saving the city over $8 million a year in response costs.
Public safety researchers are also looking at how best to keep police officers safe, by looking at issues such as:
Right here in Massachusetts, patterns of crime committed by police officers, and worse, of widespread government cover-up of those crimes, seems to be in the news every day.
Recently, patterns of police misconduct and cover-up has been revealed in police departments in Boston, Springfield, Worcester, and Williamstown, at the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, and in the scores of corrupt police officers caught in the Massachusetts State Police overtime fraud scandal. [add links].
Unfortunately, Gloucester is not immune – either from police misconduct or from the problem of government covering up that misconduct. Our research here at GoodHarbor.org has uncovered several instances of previously covered up police misconduct right here in town.
We believe that Gloucester must be pro-active to address these issues, but also that the solutions to them aren’t simple, and that the notion that things can be fixed by simply “defunding the police” does more harm than good.
We believe that public safety policy must be grounded in data, so we do original research and reporting focused on the Cape Ann Massachusetts community where we’re based, and we collect and report on research research done by others that’s relevant to developing modern public safety policies here.
Our hope is that this work can help provide the basis for sensible, data based policy changes that will help make Gloucester a safer, fairer, more just community.
We need more of that kind of innovative thinking now because there’s a lot more to be done.
As America’s trust in its police declines to all time lows, the country is re-examining how our heavily armed and armored model for public safety responders can be reshaped to be fairer, more open, less violent, and safer for all concerned.
From California to Texas, New York, and here in Massachusetts, concerned Americans are asking questions such as:
- How much of what our police are called to do requires an armed response?
- Is sending officers with guns the best response to calm a domestic dispute?
- Should traffic enforcement require a loaded gun at the ready?
- What does the data tell us about whether stationing armed police officers in our schools makes our children safer?
- Who is the most appropriate professional to respond to calls that involve mental health problems or substance abuse?
For example, one innovative program on the West Coast sends trained mental health workers and EMTs as first responders on these mental health and substance abuse calls. Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS program has had impressive results, not least of which has been saving the city over $8 million a year in response costs.
Public safety researchers are also looking at how best to keep police officers safe, by looking at issues such as:
- what are the most dangerous aspects of police work and how can they be made safer for responding officers?
- Why is the police suicide rate so high and what can be done to lower it?
Right here in Massachusetts, patterns of crime committed by police officers, and worse, of widespread government cover-up of those crimes, seems to be in the news every day.
Recently, patterns of police misconduct and cover-up has been revealed in police departments in Boston, Springfield, Worcester, and Williamstown, at the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, and in the scores of corrupt police officers caught in the Massachusetts State Police overtime fraud scandal. [add links].
Unfortunately, Gloucester is not immune – either from police misconduct or from the problem of government covering up that misconduct. Our research here at GoodHarbor.org has uncovered several instances of previously covered up police misconduct right here in town.
We believe that Gloucester must be pro-active to address these issues, but also that the solutions to them aren’t simple, and that the notion that things can be fixed by simply “defunding the police” does more harm than good.
We believe that public safety policy must be grounded in data, so we do original research and reporting focused on the Cape Ann Massachusetts community where we’re based, and we collect and report on research research done by others that’s relevant to developing modern public safety policies here.
Our hope is that this work can help provide the basis for sensible, data based policy changes that will help make Gloucester a safer, fairer, more just community.
