The city of Springfield, Massachusetts plans to hire 59 police officers this year, the largest addition to the city’s police department in 20 years.
Along with the new police officers comes a new plan to deploy more cops downtown in a Metro Policing Area.
Mayor Domenic Sarno said the officers will be hired, trained, and deployed well in advance of the opening of the MGM casino that is expected to draw 8 million visitors a year to the city.
" Having a strong police presence not only in our downtown but in our neighborhood areas brings that sense of security, that sense of investment," said Sarno.
Sarno said annual payments from MGM and a rising property tax base means the city can afford to hire the additional officers, who will enter the police academy in May.
One feature of the new fight against crime downtown will be the installation of four booths along Main Street that will be continuously staffed by police officers.
