If there was any hope to be gleaned from a 2010 report finding that Massachusetts ranked third from the bottom nationwide for funding police training, it was that the report would lead to a remedy.
But nearly three years later, frustrated law enforcement officials around the region say that basic and specialized training, from fingerprinting to dealing with the mentally ill, continue to be underfunded, and next year local departments won’t receive any state money at all.
Comments
I am glad the Globe is reporting this problem AGAIN. But those who are needed to do the right thing just don't care...they are our State Reps and Senators.
"In what could be the first positive sign since the study, legislation has been filed on Beacon Hill that would shift police training funding away from the state budget and onto automobile insurance companies by way of a surcharge on policyholders."
Wasn't that reported in the Globe about a month ago? And wasn't it reported that the head ow Ways and Means did not like the idea?
This and similar proposals have been tossed around for well over 20 years. Until a bunch of people are killed or deprived of their rights by poorly trained cops, will legislators and senators take notice and provide an inadequate knee jerk solution.
When we put guns in the hands of untrained people, that is dangerous, very dangerous. When we give these same people the power to detain and arrest (take away rights) that too is dangerous.