Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Governor's Budget Recommendation
Executive Office of Public Safety
- Line Item Information
- Executive Office of Public Safety
- Department of Law Enforcement
- Department of Criminal Justice
- Department of Emergency Management
Executive Office of Public Safety
The Executive Office of Public Safety will fulfill what the Weld/Cellucci Administration believes is one of government's most essential functions: protecting people from being injured by others or by physical disaster. This responsibility is accomplished through enforcing the law, managing criminal offenders, maintaining order on the roads, and preparing for and responding to emergencies.
During Fiscal Year 1997, the Executive Office of Public Safety will develop new department structures that will demand measurable results. The Executive Office will work with local police, the Judiciary, and other criminal justice entities to track whether community policing actually creates safer neighborhoods, whether investigations produce arrests, arrests produce convictions, and convictions produce sentences.
The Executive Office of Public Safety also will take advantage of private market expertise. Prison health care, food services, and other institutional support have been privatized, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. Privatization should be expanded into additional areas including managing certain intensive probation programs, canteen services, and inmate transportation. In addition, the Executive Office of Public Safety will eliminate wasteful administrative duplication and, in the process, break down barriers that currently undermine public safety agencies' effectiveness.
The Executive Office of Public Safety will achieve the above objectives by dramatically restructuring and simplifying the Secretariat. The current structure of 16 agencies and numerous boards and commissions will be replaced by four departments: the Office of the Secretary, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Criminal Justice, and the Department of Emergency Management.
The Office of the Secretary will be responsible for grants management and administration, as well as criminal justice research. The former Committee on Criminal Justice, the Governor's Alliance Against Drugs, and the Highway Safety Bureau will be funded within the Office of the Secretary. This consolidation will allow the Secretary to streamline administrative functions, break down barriers between existing agencies, and more effectively distribute grants to municipalities.
Public Safety will get out of the business of regulation and focus instead on fighting crime. The Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Merit Rating Board, the Board of Building Regulations, the Architectural Access Board, the Underground Storage Tank program, and various inspection programs will all be transferred to the Department of Licensing and Regulation, a new department of the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. In addition, the functions of the Bureau of Special Investigations will be transferred to the Executive Office of Family Services.
A vital weapon in arming public safety officials for the future is the thoughtful development of information systems. Thus, information technology strategic planning functions, currently performed by the Criminal History Systems Board, Firearms Record Bureau, Emergency Telecommunications Board (E-911), State Police, Department of Corrections, and Parole Board, will be consolidated within the Office of the Secretary. This consolidation will enable public safety agencies to stretch limited resources further by establishing uniform criminal information systems standards and goals.
The Department of Law Enforcement will combine the State Police, the Chief Medical Examiner, and the Criminal Justice Training Council. The State Police will increase emphasis on sophisticated crime fighting services. A first-rate, consolidated forensics system will offer law enforcement officials one-stop shopping, helping them to solve crimes and prosecute criminals quickly and effectively. Finally, the new Department will coordinate the training of all of the Commonwealth's police officers thus encouraging more uniform training while still responding to the special needs of our local police forces.
The Department of Correction, county corrections, parole, and all post-sentencing probation services from the Trial Court will form the Department of Criminal Justice. County corrections employees will become state employees but continue to work for elected state sheriffs. Unifying corrections functions will lead to more effective utilization of prison space, program dollars, and intensive supervision for non-violent offenders. In addition, the Prison Industries program will be strengthened through administrative and financing changes, helping to put more inmates to work.
The Department of Emergency Management will consolidate the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, the Military Division, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency into one department responsible for emergency preparation and response.
In Fiscal Year 1997, 13,606 full-time equivalent staff (FTEs) will perform the responsibilities currently administered by the Executive Office of Public Safety and the county corrections system. In the Office of the Secretary, 110 FTEs will handle core administrative functions of the Secretariat as well as the responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary.
Budget Recommendations
The amount recommended for the Executive Office of Public Safety is $847.51 million. The recommendation for the Office of the Secretary of $35.26 million represents centralization of information technology, fiscal, and personnel functions. Also included is $12.16 million for Community Policing grants and $15.68 million to fund fully the state match for the local police educational incentive.
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Department of Law Enforcement
The Department of Law Enforcement will ensure a productive and safe environment for all residents of the Commonwealth through crime prevention, law enforcement, and criminal investigative duties. The Department will maximize the use of technology and fiscal resources and maintain a highly trained, well-equipped and professional force of sworn officers and civilians.
The Department of Law Enforcement will consolidate the State Police, the Chief Medical Examiner, and the Criminal Justice Training Council. This consolidation will result in a department capable of using state-of-the-art technology to train police officers, solve crimes, and apprehend criminals. Increased emphasis will be placed on expanding the cooperative effort between the State Police and the Chief Medical Examiner's Office to enhance crime scene and forensic services and also redefine the complementary missions of state and local police.
The Department will achieve its mission by:
- deploying a State Police class of 100 which was funded in Fiscal Year 1996;
- re-deploying some of the Commonwealth's 2,000 State Police officers to criminal and specifically gang investigations, tactical operations, canine units, specialized training, and crime scene services;
- transferring State Police officers, currently performing automobile inspections and administering driver license exams at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, back to the State Police;
- working with the Office of the Secretary to ensure that information technology is compatible with other law enforcement entities such as District Attorneys, the Attorney General, and the Judiciary;
- implementing a medical examiner system with two major regional offices that will enhance forensic services throughout the state by operating around the clock, seven days a week;
- consolidating pathology staff, enabling the agency to require fewer full-time staff pathologists and to privatize pathological autopsies;
- replacing the 20 member Criminal Justice Training Council with an executive director, appointed by the Secretary, who will be responsible for basic and continuing vocational training of the 351 municipal police departments across the state; and
- funding 10 classes of 40 municipal police recruits.
Budget Recommendations
The amount recommended for the Department of Law Enforcement includes $10 million for the purchase of new State Police cruisers and $1.95 million for the annualized cost of a class of 100 troopers (part of the Federal COPS Ahead program).
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Department of Criminal Justice
The Department of Criminal Justice will protect the public through effective and innovative management of a population of over 20,000 inmates in over 40 correctional facilities, as well as through post-sentencing supervision of over 50,000 non-incarcerated offenders. This new department will consolidate the functions of the Department of Correction, the county correctional system, parole and the post-sentencing probation services of the Superior and District Court departments of the Trial Court.
In Fiscal Year 1997, the Department of Criminal Justice will have the following objectives:
- realize savings of $10.7 million in the areas of food services, information technology, transportation, and medical services due increased purchasing power and economies of scale;
- solicit bids to privatize certain intensive probation supervision programs, canteen services, and transportation services;
- put more inmates to work by improving prison industries;
- achieve savings of $3.2 million by decreasing administrative personnel; and
- improve intensive, community-based supervision programs by coordinating current Department of Correction, Probation, and Parole Board efforts in this area.
By consolidating existing departments, managers will become accountable for the entire continuum of offender management and thus be able to redefine priorities and improve program efficacy. In addition, establishing a unified prisoner classification system will allow Department officials and sheriffs to maximize use of bed space and better control inmates.
A top priority of the Weld/Cellucci Administration is to put more inmates to work. Requiring inmates to work while incarcerated makes prisons more safely and efficiently managed, generates revenue for restitution, and reduces recidivism. Planned administrative changes and the creation of the Massachusetts Prison Industries Enterprise Fund will enable correctional industries to function like a business. Finally, the Department may also solicit bids for the management of some industries functions.
Budget Recommendations
The amount recommended for the Department of Criminal Justice reflects the transfer of post-sentencing probation from the Judiciary to the Department of Criminal Justice ($26.95 million) and the revenue neutral costs associated with full state funding of County Corrections ($56.58 million). The recommended amount assumes no attrition of correction officer positions, funding for modular units at the Treatment Center, MCI-Norfolk, and MCI-Concord, and the cost of contracting bed space to alleviate overcrowding. Also included is $600,000 for a Video Conferencing Program, which will enable crime victims to participate in parole hearings, and $200,000 for the Public Safety Security Program, which assesses inmates for potential transfer to community correctional institutions and prepares them for release to the community.
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Department of Emergency Management
The Department of Emergency Management will seek to plan for and protect the Commonwealth's citizens from physical disaster or military threat. The new Department will coordinate the Military Division, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, and the Hazardous Materials Regional Response Program. This consolidation will create a department that will more efficiently and effectively coordinate emergency preparation and response to any statewide emergency or disaster. The citizens of the Commonwealth's cities and towns will benefit from the Department's ability to provide a prompt and coordinated response to crises.
The Department will achieve its mission by:
- coordinating federal, state, and local governments and private resources during a time of emergency or disaster affecting any of the Commonwealth's 351 communities;
- maintaining a ready force of 2,000 and over 13,000 fully equipped personnel able to respond to emergencies within 24 hours;
- investigating explosions and fires of unknown or suspicious origin;
- regulating the storage and transportation of flammable liquids, explosives, and fireworks; and
- providing hazardous materials incident support to six locations via the Hazardous Materials Regional Response Teams.
The Department will also enhance the preparedness and training of local governments in the implementation of a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan that will address all potential hazards, designate local government responsibility, offer training, and list all available resources.
Budget Recommendations
The amount recommended for the Department of Emergency Management includes $500,000 for additional resources to provide greater enforcement of the state fire code, to ensure maximum compliance with current fire safety regulations, and to assist municipalities in achieving these goals.
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