Boston Police

Soon after the Boston Police Department began in 1999 to use an annual hair test to determine whether officers had used drugs, members of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers began noticing a troubling trend: A disproportionate number of Black cops were testing positive for cocaine.

Last year, the Boston City Council passed a sweeping law aimed at reining in surveillance practices by the Boston Police Department and other city agencies.

Former Boston police Superintendent William ‘Billy’ Celester died Monday at age 78.

Justices of the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled in favor of a Salvadoran immigrant’s petition to review a deportation order, finding in favor of his argument that a Boston Police Department gang database determination falsely identified him as a member of the MS-13 gang.

After years of activism by civil rights groups, the Boston City Council passed an ordinance unanimously last week that increases transparency on police use of surveillance technology.

As candidates approach the finish line, financial support from police officers has been far higher on behalf of at-large City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George.

On Saturday, June 26, activists from the Youth Justice and Power Union gathered at City Hall to demand a $120 million cut from the police budget and a cancellation of the new class of 250 police officers.

City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Andrea Campbell successfully passed for the second time an ordinance on limiting police crowd control weapons, a reform that acting Mayor Janey voted “yes” on while she was still in her seat as Council president.

After a summer of protests, Boston city councilors are looking for more protocol on how the police control crowds. In a working session on Nov. 18, Councilors Andrea Campbell, Lydia Edwards and Ricardo Arroyo attempted to bring Boston police officers on board with restrictions on tear gas, projectiles and other crowd control weapons, but did not receive support.

The Boston Police Department’s Bureau of Professional Standards is looking into data showing Boston police officers collecting overtime for court appearances while at the same time working outside of courthouses.

The Boston Police Department pays millions of dollars in overtime, including for court appearances that can last minutes, but the city has little means of tracking how those dollars are spent, according to City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo.

Boston city councilors are pushing to ban facial recognition, a surveillance software that disproportionately misidentifies people of color and may violate civil rights and basic privacies.