Implementing reforms at the Springfield Police Department demanded by a federal consent decree will cost money, but nothing has been budgeted so far.
The city of Springfield and the U.S. Department of Justice are going to jointly hire someone who will monitor the process of reforming the Springfield Police Department and make regular public progress reports.
A 15-page job description and list of qualifications was posted last week on the city’s website. Applications are due June 10th.
Hiring an independent compliance evaluator, whose fees and other expenses are to be paid for by the city, is part of the consent decree the city and the Justice Department agreed to that was announced last month by Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke.
“We’re very confident in this agreement and confident that the monitor we jointly select with the city will help put us on a path to effective reform,” Clarke said
The monitor is expected to oversee the police department reforms for at least three years.
“There is a cap on monitor fees,” Clarke said. “We encourage the use of pro bono time and other steps to control costs. Over time some of the monitoring responsibilities will transition over to the city.”
This won’t be the only expense the city will face as it makes the federally-mandated changes to the police department’s use-of-force policies, officer training, supervision, and accountability.
The newly-appointed Board of Police Commissioners, which is to hold disciplinary hearings for police officers, needs support staff and perhaps its own office space, said Commission chair Gary Berte during a meeting last week with the City Council Public Safety Committee.
“We would welcome any support financially, administratively, or personnel-wise that we could get to move forward with the changes that are needed,” he said.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno’s proposed $819 million budget for the fiscal year that starts this July 1st would essentially level-fund the police department. Sarno said once any expenses related to the consent decree are known, he’ll ask the City Council to appropriate the money.
“As I gave my word when this started to U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins, the monetary assets will be there,” Sarno said.
The city has already spent millions of dollars to outfit all 500 of its patrol officers and supervisors with body-worn cameras. The police department has also purchased a new record management system and new software to track investigations by the Internal Investigations Unit said T.J. Plante, Springfield’s Chief Administration and Finance Officer.
“We made sure that the new systems would satisfy all the DOJ requirements,” Plante said.
Lawyers for the city and the DOJ negotiated for 14 months to arrive at the 69-page consent decree agreement after a federal investigation found that members of the police department’s former narcotics unit routinely used excessive force that violated people’s civil rights.
Rachael Rollins, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, said whatever expenses come with reforming the Springfield Police Department it could be cheap when compared to paying out judgements in police misconduct cases.
“I’m saying with respect to costs that this is money well-spent,” Rollins said.
Last year, the Springfield City Council authorized a $5 million settlement fund to try to clear a backlog of pending civil suits alleging police misconduct. So far, about $1 million has been paid out from the fund.
