Boston Police Commissioner Edward’ Davis released a memo on Wednesday night announcing 20 civilians and 40 cadets from the department will be laid off by July 1.
‘The current fiscal crisis that has plagued the country has left the city of Boston with no choice but to reduce personnel and non-personnel costs,’ Davis said in the memo.
The decision on how to begin to close BPD’s $20 million budget gap was announced after a meeting between Davis and his command staff Wednesday afternoon, according to The Boston Globe.
BPD spokesman Eddy Chrispin said police cadets are a special class of civilians. Cadets go through a mini-academy to become unsworn police officers. Employees classified simply as civilians are people who work for the police department.
‘Cadets don’t really do police work, and they are hired on a two-year basis,’ he said. ‘Civilians are not sworn personnel.’
The civilian layoffs will occur in the Mounted Unit, otherwise known as the horse unit.
The Operations Division Neighborhood Interaction Unit that is responsible for taking calls on minor offenses and property crimes will be disbanded, accounting for 10 of the civilian layoffs, Davis said in the memo.
In addition to the civilian and cadet cuts, a police facility on Hancock Street and the Anti-Corruption Unit will be relocated to save funds, according to the memo. The Family Justice Center of Boston at 989 Commonwealth Ave. will also lose detectives from the sexual and domestic assault units at the time of the relocation, according to the Boston Globe. The FJCB serves victims of domestic and sexual assault and child abuse.
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