Key Legislative Milestones

Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Reform advanced at the State House: The state Senate passed a bill in 2009 that, if  passed by the House in 2010, will reform the CORI laws as follows:  non-convictions would no longer appear on CORI reports; felony convictions could be sealed after a 10-year waiting period; misdemeanor convictions could be sealed after a 5-year waiting period ; the waiting period would begin immediately after release from prison; and written job applications would not be allowed to include a question about felony convictions.

The Massachusetts Legislature passed disability pension reform following a series of high-profile scandals within the Boston Fire Department.  A 2008 review of records by the Boston Globe found 102 firefighters had significantly increased their tax-free disability pensions through a “king for a day” loophole allowing firefighters to be eligible for a higher-level pension after serving in that position for one day.

City of Boston Milestones

In 2007, Boston established a Strategic Crime Council to address crime through a “six-pronged approach”: a legislative agenda; the involvement of public health and health care agencies; targeted law enforcement strategies; education and awareness; community outreach; and changes to the judicial system. The members of the council are cabinet level officials from departments such as Police, Health and Human Services, Housing, Education, Recreation and Public Health who will meet on a weekly basis. The Council also plans to bring in external partners such as the Suffolk County Sheriff and Department of Youth Servicesto discuss issues relevant to those agencies. 

Mayor Thomas M. Menino appointed a Citizen Review Board to independently review allegations of serious misconduct by Boston Police in January, 2007.  The Mayor appointed John O’Brien, Dean at the New England Law School, David Hall, former dean and current Professor at Northeastern University Law School, and Ruth Suber, a former Parole Officer, to the three member board.

The City of Boston, Boston Foundation, Boston Police Department, Black Ministerial Alliance and various agencies and community partners launchedStreetSafe Boston, an unprecedented 5-year, $26 million partnership to target the 1% of  youth, or “impact players” who perpetrate over 50% of violence in 5 “hot spot” neighborhoods and account for more than 70% of citywide violent crime.  With a focus on street-level gang intervention and increased services to proven-risk youth, this initiative had hired, trained and placed an additional 20 street workers in hot spots by the fall of 2009 and engaged community partners to provide housing, education, workforce, family and mental health services to proven-risk youth.

The City of Boston and Boston Police Department incorporated new technology to combat crime and increase safety awareness (see also Technology):

• BPD institutedCOMPSTAT  in 2007 as a means for data-driven crime analysis;
• In 2007, the City of Boston and BPD became the first in the nation to allow anonymous crime tips to be sent via text message to the  Crime Stoppersline;
• Both the Boston Police Department  and the Boston Fire Departmenthave begun using Twitter as a means of information sharing;
• In 2009, BPD began publishing city-wide crime mapss  earchable by neighborhoods, distance, incidence and date.
  
  

The City of Boston received $15 million in federal funding through the Urban Areas Security Initiative and the Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program n June 2009 to establish new tools for citywide, neighborhood and family emergency preparedness, including:

•  Ready Boston, a tool to promote family emergency preparedness, is protected for confidentiality and allows families to upload important contact information, recent pictures and a detailed plan in case of emergency.
• Shelter Finder: helps residents find the nearest neighborhood emergency center
• StormReady City, allowing city officials to receive co-coordinated data, information and alters about serious weather threats from the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Community Emergency Response Team(CERT) is a component of the national citizen corps and the City of Boston now provides training for residents who want to be a member of a coordinated emergency response team.

In early 2009, the City of Boston announced $9 million for the Summer Jobs Program despite initial budget concerns.  With $4 million in funding from the City’s operating budget, $2.5 million from the state’s Youth Works program and the rest from Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Stimulus funding, the City of Boston was able to provide jobs for 10,000 teens.

The Boston Firefighters Union and the City of Boston have yet to reach agreement on key issues.  Following a report finding that two Boston firefighters killed in the 2007 Tai Ho restaurant fire were under the influence of drugs and alcohol, the City of Boston pressed for mandatory drug testing, an issue strongly opposed by the Boston Firefighters Union—leading to the ultimate breakdown of collective bargaining and contract negotiations.  In addition, the 2008 crash of a Boston fire truck that killed a veteran firefighter was found to be caused by faulty brakes and a subsequent independent system review cited inadequate emergency training.

The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) was approved following years of questions from the community about its safety. The 194,000 square foot located within BioSquare, a biomedical research and business park adjacent to Boston University Medical Campus in the South End, is part of a national network of secure facilities that study infectious diseases, the facility develops diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics to combat emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Housing BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories and a BSLevel 4 (the highest level of containment), it will enable basic, translational and clinical research as well as the development of products related to emerging infectious diseases, adding to the growing life sciences industry.

A 2009 survey by the Boston Public Health Commission  found that most of Boston’s teens felt that arguing and fighting are a normal part of a relationship.  While recent initiatives from BPS and the youth-serving community have made some headway in increasing services for high-risk youth and options for all teens, the recent recession has constrained  funding for youth-employment programs, alternative education and credit recovery for dropouts, and out of-school time opportunities.