HAMPSHIRE COUNTY – On July 1, many provisions from the Massachusetts police reform law, titled “An Act relative to Justice, Equity, and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth,” officially went into effect.

The law, which was officially signed in by the state on Dec. 31, 2020, bans chokeholds and prohibits physical force until de-escalation tactics have been attempted and failed. The law also prohibits the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and the release of dogs during community demonstrations and protests unless de-escalation has been attempted. An officer must intervene when another officer is using excessive force.

The legislation will, for the first time, create a mandatory certification process for police officers through the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. This commission will consist of nine people, six from outside of law enforcement, and will be responsible investigating and adjudicating claims of misconduct, maintaining databases of training, certification, employment, and internal affairs records for all officers, and certifying law enforcement agencies.

Another nine-member commission will make policy recommendations to ensure equitable treatment and policing of Black communities. Commissions have also been created to ensure equitable policing of Latinx communities, and people with disabilities. Each of these commissions will release a yearly report on previous year’s activities.

Locally, police departments in Hampshire County have already started to adjust to many of these provisions.

According to Robert Alberti, the chief of the Easthampton Police Department, the elimination of special police officers, otherwise known as part-time officers, will leave the biggest impact since many Western Massachusetts departments rely on those positions.

“We anticipate that our overtime costs will significantly increase due to not being able to utilize special police officers to augment overtime,” said Alberti, who added that he has been an advocate for certifying all police officers for years. “The other issue we foresee is funding for the Bridge Academy.”

Several policies have had to be revised inside the Easthampton Police Department, including policies involving use of force and internal affairs. Use of force changes include updated de-escalation techniques and taking a non-threatening approach to conversing with an individual. It also states that an officer should avoid physical contact if violence or destructive acts are not occurring. There are several different strategies that are listed as well when it comes to dealing with certain situations.

Alberti added that he suspects there will be added training in the future, but the department is still waiting to see what the Municipal Police Training Committee rolls out for this year’s in-service training.

“I believe [the law] is a step in the right direction for police reform,” said Alberti. “I believe it still needs some amending and definitely state funding for the Bridge Academy.”

According to Ian Illingsworth, the chief of the Southampton Police Department, the new reform law has “minimal procedural effects” on their department. Certain policies were amended to adjust to the new requirements from the law, such as use of force and fair and impartial policing. These specific procedures will have little to no impact though as Southampton has already been dedicated to the “guardian” style approach to policing.

“Where the reform bill will have a considerable impact is staffing,” said Illingsworth. “Formally, to be qualified as a police officer, one would have to either attend a full-time police recruit academy class if employed as a full-time police officer in a city or town or a reserve intermittent police academy if working as a part-time, reserve or auxiliary police officer.”

The auxiliary position is an abbreviated academy which does not meet the standards of a “certified police officer” under the new reform act. Because of this, Illingsworth believes that police departments of all sizes that rely on police officers working on a part-time or auxiliary basis will likely lose this staffing resource at one point.

The Southampton Police Department relies heavily on part-time officers, according to Illingsworth. The department currently employs eight officers working in a part-time capacity, many of which have years of experience.

“In fiscal year 2021, part-time officers worked approximately 4,200 shift hours,” said Illingsworth, who added that this is the equivalent of about two full-time police officer positions. “My concern as a police administrator is that this resource will eventually become non-existent in police forces in Massachusetts creating fiscal and personnel shortages, which will impact public and officer safety.”   

Meanwhile, Chief David White of the Westhampton Police Department told Reminder Publishing that he has been a longtime advocate for a bill of this nature, but added that, in its current state, the law is taxing on smaller police departments like Westhampton.

While there are not many major changes, White said that it could take awhile for a small department to read all the new policies and enact them right away. “It’s just a lot of extra things for a small town to deal with,” said White.

The Westhampton Police Department must send two of its officers to the Bridge Academy due to the new certification updates. Both of these officers work 40 hours a week, and now they have to go to 200 hours of out-of-town training a piece. This process, according to White, could affect budget.

“That extra 400 hours; what would’ve been patrol time, service time to the town, administrative time, that’s not going to be covered,” said White. “In general, you’re going to have people who, for years who worked five to 10 hours a week as a part-time officer, they’re not going to see it as being worth it anymore.”

According to White, the state put some timelines into the law that were “too ambitious,” especially with what they are requiring. For example, officers were supposed to be attending Bridge Academy at this point, but that initiative has not been enacted yet.

“Overall, the law is a good thing, but more questions should’ve been asked about small-town policing and how it works,” said White. The Westhampton Police Department currently features five total officers.