The trend in small-town law enforcement is for rural municipalities to share policing as a way to increase efficiency and save money.
With that idea in mind, the possibility of Buckland and Shelburne sharing services was discussed this week at the Buckland Selectboard meeting attended by Shelburne Selectboard member Andrew Baker and both towns’ police chiefs. Likewise, the Leyden and Bernardston Selectboards met in executive session on Wednesday to discuss the potential of a shared policing agreement between their two towns.
“I understand the idea and I know that it’s been talked about for years between the two towns, to the point of near-redundancy,” said Shelburne Police Chief Gregory Bardwell. “But I think with the climate of law enforcement and changes in Massachusetts with police reform, that regionalization is probably going to become more prevalent in these types of areas than not. Departments are short-staffed and/or falling apart completely.”
Bardwell said he supports furthering the discussion.
He explained statewide reform will, by 2024, virtually eliminate part-time and auxiliary officers, at least in terms of the minimum requirements to obtain those positions. He said all officers will be required to attend the full-time police academy. The idea is to ensure all officers are fully trained, but Bardwell said this will affect small towns more than big cities.
Bardwell said he has three full-time officers (including himself) and five part-timers, who have full-time jobs elsewhere in a variety of fields in the private and public sectors. The chief said the reform may result in some part-time officers having to abandon their law enforcement careers.
Any officers with fewer than 2,400 hours of patrols by 2024 will have to attend the full-time academy, requiring them to leave their families Monday through Friday for six months and graduate to work just one or two shifts a month.
“I just don’t think anybody’s going to want to do that,” Bardwell said.
Acting Buckland Police Chief Kurt Gilmore said he, too, is facing a lot of staffing issues. He also noted that, due to logistics, a partnership involving Buckland would not work with any town except Shelburne.
While he acknowledged the situation is different, Bardwell said the inter-municipal agreement between Leverett and Wendell is an example of a successful memorandum of understanding.
Buckland Selectboard member Clint Phillips, who works as a police officer in Hatfield, said Bardwell and Gilmore “hit the nail right on the head.” He explained the Hatfield Police Department consists of himself, the chief, a full-time officer and eight part-timers.
“This is the time to really put our heads together, and I think it’s going to benefit both towns,” he said.
The Leyden Selectboard voted on Monday to have the town moderator appoint seven members to a new committee that will address all public services — police, fire, emergency medical services and emergency management services — and “potentially how they can work more interdependently,” said Selectboard member Erica Jensen.
The Leyden and Bernardston Selectboards also met in executive session on Wednesday to discuss the potential of a shared policing agreement. Leyden doesn’t currently have a police chief after Dan Galvis, who held the position for nearly 30 years, retired late last month.
“It seemed to be positive on both sides,” Bernardston Police Chief James Palmeri said of Wednesday’s discussion. “They may look to go down a route sort of like what Leverett and Wendell just did.”
He said both Bernardston and Leyden’s Selectboards seemed receptive to a possible agreement, and that Leyden would “take the positivity of last night’s talk” back to its recently formed public safety committee for further consideration. Should a combined police service come to fruition, Palmeri said he thinks it could be positive for both towns.
“I think combining two agencies into one larger one gives you better resources, and a little better continuity operating under one policy system,” he said. “It seems like a smart route.”
Palmeri was sure to note the conversations Wednesday evening were preliminary, and conversations will continue before either town is ready to take official steps. While it is too soon to know how leadership would be finalized for a combined police service, as standing chief of the Bernardston Police Department, Palmeri said he would be interested in and open to leading a combined department.