Share the Seaport
The city of Boston has tried unsuccessfully for years to assert its law enforcement authority in the Seaport neighborhood, a chunk of which falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Massachusetts State Police. But neighborhood growth is compounding by the week — and let’s just say the staties have a great deal on their plate these days. The Legislature needs to quit stalling and address this issue once and for all.
State police officers have jurisdiction on property owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority, where Boston cops want the right to respond to calls and make arrests (a smaller Massport force also patrols the neighborhood). As Boston Mayor Marty Walsh pointed out in a WBZ-AM interview Tuesday, the neighborhood, once home mostly to parking lots, fishermen and a few watering holes, is now home to thousands of new city residents. Many more than that work in the neighborhood. There are restaurants and bars galore.
At the same time there are questions swirling about leadership of the State Police, with four top-ranking officers calling it a career in recent weeks rather than deal with the fallout of a series of terrible management decisions. With that dysfunction on the front pages — and the announcement that Amazon plans to plant a flag in the Seaport, bringing with it up to 2,000 employees — call it good timing for Walsh to renew his pitch for shared jurisdiction for the two police agencies. It has the added advantage of being the right thing to do.
There were both House and Senate bills filed this session that would allow the city and the state police to negotiate an agreement giving them concurrent jurisdiction on Massport property. The House version of the bill makes clear that state police would retain exclusive jurisdiction on property exclusive to port or aviation operations. The Senate version of the bill, meanwhile, gives the state police exclusive right to paid details, so scratch that petty excuse off the list. Both bills seem marked for oblivion this session.
This ongoing squabble over turf does a disservice to the public. Boston is changing, and some moldy old policies need to change along with it.