Hate Crimes, Body Cams, Diversity, and Worcester Police

Hate Crimes, Body Cams, Diversity, and Worcester Police

 The Worcester Police under Chief Sargent has become more transparent. They seem to have changed for the better without affecting their effectiveness.  It was surprising when I heard activists in the Blacklives Matter movement say the same. I hope I don’t have to eat these words.

Several years ago the police in Worcester were hated. They used excessive force and harassed the teenagers out of the downtown and other places. The Worcester Human Rights Commission monitored the civilian complaints against the Worcester Police and at the urging of the Progressive Labor Party and other groups the police also began to report on incidents of hate crimes.

The incidents of both complaints and hate crimes have gone down. Although there is some questions regarding the methods of the statistical analysis, there seems to be a real reduction of incidents.

Since the Blacklives Matter movement there was a so called commitment by the City of Worcester for the implementation of the use of body cams for the police. After petitions to the City Council and the embarrassing admmittal in 2018 that there were no concrete plans for body cams, Chief Sargent got the police union to agree to pilot program for their use.

The chief was uncertain at the Worcester Human Rights Commission 6-3-19 meeting about the criteria that were to be used in the evaluation of the body cameras and policing. He sounded like he was making up policy at the meeting, but one can take away that he is in favor of the body camera use.

PLP petitioned City Council that it establish policy for the use of body cameras. This petition was sent to the Public Safety subcommittee chaired by Kate Toomey.

This city councilor has done nothing on the issue. I think she should resign from Public Safety subcommittee for abrogation of her duties.

Recruitment seems to be an area of confusion and double speak.  The recruitment Sargent spoke of the many things he has done including working with the Diversity Officer in the City Manager’ office. However as long as ex-military get first hot at the police positions, the recruitment of women and people of color is almost zero. There are no Black females on the police force in Worcester.

We will see soon enough if the transparency is long lasting. The body cams are evaluated in November. The complaints, diversity,  and hate crimes next report is due in early 2020.