PAX Centurion - April / June 2016

Page 46 • PAX CENTURION • April-May-June 2016 617-989-BPPA (2772) I n an article which appeared in the Boston Globe May 11 th , 2016, Pg. B-1 (“New Police Review Board recommended to Mayor Walsh”) it was reported that the current BPD Citizen’s oversight panel has recommended that the city create a new, independent board imbued with subpoena powers and ten full-time employees costing a bargain-rate “less than $3 million” per year. Once again, a bureaucracy proposes perpetuating itself with… more bureaucrats and more bureaucracy. No mystery here. Frank Purdue’s fortune began with a few measly chickens pecking away at chickenfeed, until some friendly foxes happened by and suggested that a bigger chicken COOP (intentionally capitalized – see below) would be a good idea… ahm…for the greater good of the people! (Yeah, that’s right….for the people…let’s use that line!) And so it began with the so-called infant-baby CAB (civilian advisory board). CAB begat COOP (Civilian Ombudsman Oversight Panel, see what I meant…), and COOP now desires to become pregnant and give birth to COPA (No, not the Cabana one, this acronym stands for “Community Office of PoliceAccountability”). All good bureaucracies begin with an acronym. Now, most BPPA members probably missed this pronouncement, which was made by our friends at the Boston Globe (AKA - the local version of the Pyongyang Daily Democratic News ), due to the current onslaught of mandatory overtime shifts due to chronic short-staffing. Therefore, as a service to our members who missed purchasing that day’s Globe , let us sum it up for you: you know how theACLU, the courts, the media, the USAttorney’s office, the politicians and the community activists have forced you to adopt a Laissez-faire (“hands- off”) approach to modern-day policing?Well, just add COPA, the New $3M Police Review Board proposed By James W. Carnell, Pax Editor bastard child of CAB and COOP, to the ever-lengthening list, and you’ll understand. A bureaucracy – any bureaucracy – has but one goal: self- perpetuation. No bureaucracy EVER advocates for eradicating itself or returning its budget to the local treasury when its alleged job is done. In Massachusetts, the Latin phrase Ad Hoc appearing before the word “ committee” translates loosely as “lifetime sinecure at the public trough.” (Example: MassPike tollbooths were supposed to be removed in 1988…) It accomplishes this goal in a variety of ways, but the most common way is to “create” – a problem which does not exist and then set itself up as the only available agency which can address this just-created non-problem. Of course, this cannot be accomplished for free: every bureaucracy will need MORE staff – (translation: nieces, nephews, neighbors and friends of politicians), and MORE MONEY $$$$!!!! Because of course, you big dope, MORE staff needs MORE money. And then, more staff with more money will need more ADMINISTRATORS to oversee the more staff and more money, which will also require an even more special “SPECIAL PANEL” and an ATTORNEY to protect the interests of the staff and the special panel and the administrators to ensure that it never goes out of business. Oh, but isn’t this that nattering nabob of negativity, the Pax editor, who espouses this horrid, un-politically-correct viewpoint?Ahmm… no, not really.Your Honor, the evidence produces itself, verbatim from the pages of the Pyongyang Daily News : “…COOP [would be] – a separate office for people to file complaints against the police department that would be granted the resources and authority to investigate those complaints. The accountability office would include an executive director, ten staff members, a board, a budget and an office away from police headquarters…” “… The office would be a first step towards restoring confidence in the Police Department …” (Editor: remember: “create a problem?” I didn’t know we needed to have confidence restored, but….) “Every successful organization needs to look at what they can do better”, said J. Larry Mayes, a member of the oversight panel, and vice-president of programs for Catholic Charities…” (Ed.: I’ll leave that one alone, but something tells me that J. Larry might be a friend of M. Stanley…) “The other panel members are retired judge Regina Quinlan and Natashia Tidwell, a former associate Professor at New England Law School.”… (Ed.: Hmmm… “Retired”… “Former Associate”….hmmm) “Mayes estimated that a new accountability office would cost less than $3 million a year”… (Ed.: At this point, I am asking the taxpayers of Boston to refrain from loud applause and return to the sitting position. Remember, the Police Commissioner has recently said that police overtime must be cut and so their budget has to come from somewhere …) “Mayes said civilians would be able to send in complaints in a variety of ways, including via smartphone …” “The recommendations call for the executive director…to be an attorney …staff would include an information specialist to streamline the complaint intake process, a specialist to do neighborhood outreach, seven complaint analysts , and a mediation specialist . There would also be a 7-11 member police review board …members of that panel would be appointed by the Mayor with input from community leaders.” Ahmm…Your Honor…at this time I rest my case. THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT PEER SUPPORT UNIT We are a peer-driven support program for police officers and their families. Our program is completely confidential and is available to ALL police officers and their families. Group or individual help with handling family and life issues, alcohol, drugs, anger and domestic issues. Referral for specialist as needed. 251 River Street, Mattapan, MA 02126 Office: 617-343-5175 (M-F 9 am-5 pm) Off-Hours, On-Call Peer Counselor: 617-594-9091 Sometimes even WE need a little help from our friends! Sometimes even WE need a