Police Details Subject of IBPO Meeting with Senate Leadership
April 2, 2008
In a meeting today with Senate leadership, IBPO Legislative Director Ray McGrath, working with MassCOP and the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, continued to press for a commitment to preserve the police details that are critical to public safety at road construction sites.
An initiative unveiled last week by Governor Patrick, Speaker DiMasi, and Rep. Wagner, who is chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, would have the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Public Safety put forth regulations and guidelines for the use of police details at public works sites.
The proposals would require the Secretaries to group public works projects into various tiers, and each tier would require certain types of safety personnel. One tier might require a police detail, while another would be "rated" as suitable for other "safety personnel," like a flagman. Information regarding the tiers is very vague at this time. However, in an email sent late today to state senators clarifying the impact of the proposed legislation, it was noted that, "this language does not curtail local control of the operations of construction details."
"Our meeting today was to continue to push the importance of police details as a matter of public safety," said McGrath. "We believe that our aggressive lobbying activities will successfully minimize the impact of these proposals on construction details."
The "transportation reform" language will be included in the Transportation Bond Bill, which will be reported from the Senate Ways and Means Committee to the full Senate tomorrow.