Suffolk University has terminated a hotline designed to assist area youths in reporting police abuse after about a week of operation reigniting a controversy over juvenile-police relations in Boston.
Launched at the end of March, the hotline — administered through the Juvenile Justice Center at Suffolk University — was shut down by school officials who claimed the service compromised its position as a neutral institution.
Rosemarie Sansone, director of Public Affairs at Suffolk, declined to elaborate on specific aspects of the program’s cancelation but referred to a prepared statement.
“It is not the University’s role to be an investigative agency for monitoring and reporting on the performance of the police,” Sansone read from the statement.
“The Juvenile Justice Center will continue to receive calls from young people in need of assistance on issues of police harassment and other matters, and will continue to provide advice, advocacy and legal representation,” she said.
Founded in 1998 through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Suffolk University Juvenile Justice Center assists children in juvenile criminal courts through legal representation and educational advocacy.
“It would be inappropriate for the department and City Hall to comment on internal decisions made by Suffolk University,” Boston Police Department spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll told The Boston Globe in an April 8 article.
After applauding the hotline as integral in building a positive relationship between police and juveniles, Boston civil rights activists are speaking out about its cancellation.
“Filing a complaint [through the police] can be intimidating for juveniles,” said Boston civil rights attorney Howard Friedman, adding that juveniles often consider themselves targets for police abuse.
Jorge Martinez, director of Project Right — a non-profit organization that specializes in helping communities network and plan activities to solve problems — noted that the juvenile perception of police might be the problem.
“I believe we have constituents [in Roxbury and Dorchester] who perceive police [as hostile],” he said.
Martinez cited examples of reports his organization has received from juveniles who have been stopped, questioned and even searched by police while walking in area neighborhoods. He added that while he is supportive of police oversight, he thinks a civilian review board would be more effective.
“Input from the community, law enforcement, politicians and advocacy groups needs to be considered,” he said. “A civilian review board would be able to draw conclusions from gathered data in a transparent fashion.”
