Former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger will meet with the Somerville Police Department (SPD) next week to begin a review of its management.
Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone announced last month that he had hired Harshbarger and his law firm of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP to evaluate how SPD is following the recommendations made in the 2001 Police Management Study conducted by the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
Harshbarger will also be looking at SPD's efforts to alleviate the problems of increased OxyContin and heroin sales in the city.
"Somerville had the reputation of a very progressive and innovative police department [which was] very much focused on the community and addressing community problems," Harshbarger said. "I think the mayor very much wants a department like that again."
Curtatone spokesman Mark Horan said that this demonstrates the mayor's commitment to "taking a very active stance" towards crime and substance abuse in the city. Already, the mayor has established drug abuse "task forces" to raise awareness of the problem.
The Management Study contains a list of 82 recommendations, all generally geared towards making SPD run more smoothly. Some include making more effective use of resources, managing the department to increase the efficiency of police response, acting proactively rather than reactively, and increasing community outreach.
"These are kinds of issues that affect quality of peoples' lives," Harshbarger said. "It has to have the greatest impact it possibly can to ensure Somerville has safe homes, safe schools, safe neighborhoods."
Horan said that Harshbarger will probably focus on the management side of the SPD. "A lot of the issues the Management Study dealt with are still present," he said. "Now, there is obviously ever less money to go around, so making sure the police department is running efficiently is crucial."
Although the Management Study did not contain any recommendations referring specifically to Tufts, Horan said that the University will certainly be affected since the intended result of the review will be to improve public safety in general.
"There are plenty of students and faculty either living in or at least walking around Somerville. I'm sure they want the city to be as safe as possible," he said.
"What I hope that the University will feel is it is an important partner with community and that it contributes to public safety," Harshbarger said.
Although the SPD itself was not included in the decision to hire Harshbarger, some representatives seem to be in favor of the evaluation. "I'm sure he's going to do a good job," Vice President of the Patrolmen's Union John Oliviera said. "There needs to be improvement in the police department."
He is hopeful that improvement will also mean hiring more officers. He believes SPD to be severely undermanned: According to Oliviera, a city the size of Somerville requires 130 patrolmen and it only has 89. Although he realizes the city is strapped for cash, he thinks that Harshbarger will realize that it needs more officers.
Harshbarger is the Former Attorney General for Massachusetts and former District Attorney for Middlesex county, which includes Somerville. Horan thinks he is the best person for the job. "What the mayor wanted was an independent, unvarnished idea of what's going on in the department," he said. "And Harshbarger is the one to give that."
