Linda Langlais: Look at the whole picture
Published: 6/3/2021 12:31:00 PM
David Murphy’s May 31 guest columnist, “Council undoing 20 years of PD progress,” is right on.
I have attended a couple of Citizens Police Academy classes (I strongly recommend every councilor attend) one about 10-15 years ago and the other a few years ago. I can attest to positive changes made. (I am a lifelong resident.)
The quality of standards has evolved and the outstanding work Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper has done has been evident. It is disturbing at how much impact inexperienced (in the field) people can have with such quick decisions to a whole community. Our police department has been one of high standards and has welcomed community input.
Northampton to Train Civilian Emergency Response Teams
The Massachusetts city will shift some response protocols away from the police to a clinically trained civilian response team that will not carry firearms. The city will spend more than $400,000 on the new department.
May 18, 2021 • (TNS) The city of Northampton is making moves on a historic new municipal department proposed earlier this month that aims to shift some responsibilities away from police by hiring clinically trained civilians to respond to certain emergencies without firearms.
Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz on Monday unveiled the first draft of his fiscal year 2022 budget, which calls for $423,955 for the proposed Department of Community Care. The entire FY operational budget calls for $121,705,839, marking a 4.82 percent increase from last year’s budget.
Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz proposes more than $400K for historic new department of unarmed emergency responders in newly unveiled FY 2022 budget masslive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from masslive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As Northampton report calls for new department of unarmed civilian 911 responders, MassLive poll finds views on policing are complex
Updated 6:57 AM;
Whether it’s about how mental health crises should be handled or how best to support houseless individuals, there’s no shortage of opinions about policing in Northampton.
In the weeks after a resident-led commission released a sweeping report looking at how public safety can change in the small Pioneer Valley city in the years to come, MassLive published an informal digital survey in which people were asked a slew of questions about law enforcement and some of the proposals in the report.
Northampton City Council seeks to decriminalize psychedelic drugs, urge police make possession low enforcement priority
Updated Apr 01, 2021;
Efforts are underway to make pursuing criminal charges for possession of psychedelics less of a priority in one Western Massachusetts community.
The Northampton City Council is slated to vote on a resolution urging the decriminalization of the use and possession of entheogenic plants, for which psychedelic drugs fall under, pointing to their potential medical benefits as well as the harmful impact of the so-called “war on drugs.”
The council is expected to issue a final vote in favor of the resolution Thursday night. The municipal legislative body already passed the resolution in a first vote March 18.