In the first of three townwide roundtables on diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan and local officials outlined progress that’s being made in terms of policing and law enforcement — and what still needs to be done.
“The pandemic and the George Floyd murder have put a focus on policing and law enforcement in a way that has never happened before,” Ryan said at the September 22 event where more than 70 Lincolnites logged on. She noted that Middlesex County was one of the first to sign onto the “8 Can’t Wait” campaign, which outlines eight policing reforms that are being adopted by communities all over the country.
People who are arrested usually have to post bail to be released from jail until their court appearance, “but the consequences fall heavier on some communities than they do on others,” Ryan noted. “If you can’t come up with $100 for bail, it tells you a lot about other things going on in your life,” such as low wages, an unstable housing situation, or no family support, “and that has sent many people into a spiral that was very hard to recover from.”
In 2018, Middlesex County stopped requiring bail for people who were arrested for crimes that wouldn’t involve prison time even if they were to be convicted. In the first six months, the number of people who subsequently didn’t make their court appearances rose by 0.5% but then dropped back down again to the previous level, Ryan said.
Cutting down on the number of people arrested and held in custody became more critical with the advent of the pandemic. As a result, law enforcement has been moving toward issuing summonses rather than making arrests for nonviolent offenses. “In partnership with police chiefs and the sheriff, we’ve brought the number of people in custody to incredibly historic lows,” Ryan said.
Law enforcement is also using diversion programs to keep people out of the criminal justice system. Mental health and substance abuse professionals are working more closely with police during and after calls involving threatening behavior. Restorative justice programs are also being employed to avoid saddling low-level offenders with a criminal record, which severely limits future employment opportunities and thus encourages more crime, Ryan said.
“These measures give us the ability to intervene and address challenges while also holding them accountable for their behavior,” she said.
Lincoln policing
Policing in Lincoln is very service-oriented, as officers rely heavily on partnerships and referrals to mental health, domestic violence, substance abuse and other social services, Police Chief Kevin Kennedy said. Echoing Ryan, he added that the policy of Lincoln police is to issue summonses for violations whenever possible, unless violence or public safety are involved or the person has an arrest warrant for a previous offense. Most arrests in town occur when someone (often a delivery driver) goes through the security check when entering Hanscom Air Force Base and is found to have an outstanding warrant.
Kennedy presented demographic data on motor vehicle stops from January 2018 to June 2020 showing that Hispanics are greatly overrepresented when it comes to motor vehicles summons issued in Lincoln. The reason is that undocumented immigrants are allowed to register cars but are not allowed to have driver’s licenses, so they get a disproportionate number of citations for driving without a license. Massachusetts legislators tried unsuccessfully this summer to remove that restriction.
Lincoln police adhere to the guidelines outlined by President Obama’s Task Force on 21st-Century Policing, which was convened after the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo, and subsequent unrest, Kennedy said. Statewide police reform is on the horizon as well; the Massachusetts State House and Senate each passed reform bills in July, but the bills were not reconciled in committee before the end of the 2020 legislative session.
Kennedy also outlined a detailed list of policies and trainings required of officers, including training on crisis intervention and de-escalation, the use of force, domestic violence, racial profiling, fair and impartial policing, and more. When the state does enact a policing bill, “we certainly welcome whatever reform there is going to be, and we will change our policies, practices, and procedures to comply,” he said.
Lincoln police are looking into holding a multi-night “citizens’ police academy” where residents can learn about specific issues surrounding policing in Lincoln. Also on the table are body-worn and cruiser cameras. The police will make a spending proposal next year for such equipment, but questions about its use in various circumstances (inside private homes, when taking viciim statements, etc.) must first be resolved.
“There’s a whole host if issues that have to be discussed as a community,” Kennedy said.
Lincoln does not have any minorities on its force of 13 officers and five dispatchers. “We have to get more creative. Traditional approaches to [police] recruitment are not helping us to achieve the goals we want” in terms of diversity, Kennedy said. “We’re open to whatever way we can go about engaging and recruiting a diverse workforce.”
“We have a lot of work to do and we’re nowhere near where we want to be in terms of diversity,” agreed Town Administrator Tim Higgins.
The next two roundtables on diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism are:
- “What is the Role of Town Government?” — Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
- “What is the Role of Community Groups?” — Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
Click here for more information and registration links.
September 11
