MBTA
Transit
Police
Department
B i-Annua l R e p o r t 2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9
Table of Contents
Message from General Manager Richard A. Davey............................3
Message from Police Chief Paul S. MacMillan....................................4
The Core Values of the Transit Police.................................................5
Crime at Lowest Level in 30 Years.....................................................6
Point of Entry Policing.......................................................................8
Transit Police Service Areas Work to Cut Crime..................................11
Anti-Terrorism Strategy.....................................................................22
Transit Police at 40: Decades of Growth and Change
Working to Keep Every Rider Safe.....................................................24
The Office of the Chief......................................................................28
The Patrol Operations Division..........................................................29
The Investigative Services Division....................................................30
The Administrative Services Division..................................................31
The Roll of Honor 2009....................................................................32
Retirees: A Time for the Department to Say Thank You.......................33
Promotions and Milestones..............................................................34
Contact the Transit Police..................................................................35
In Memoriam...................................................................................36
Mission of the MBTA Transit Police....................................................back cover
2
Message from General Manager
Richard A. Davey
Dear Riders:
n 2008, the MBTA Transit Police marked
its 40th year of maintaining a safe haven
for riders and fellow MBTA employees. All
of us remain dedicated to making your
ride and/or your workplace safe and crimefree.
The MBTA Transit Police in 2008-2009
continued to make the Department a national leader in the field of transit policing.
Under the leadership of Chief Paul S. MacMillan, the Department has institutionalized
important strategic changes to enhance its
capabilities and its accountability. The most
important has been making the Transit Police
Service Areas hubs of effective crime prevention across the system. We can see the results in the ongoing decreases in crime.
I
Guided by its values and driven by its
commitment to excellence the Transit Police
Department will be positioned to meet the
challenges of the future. I very much look
forward to working with the Transit Police as
together we continue to work hard to make
every ride a crime-free ride on the T.
Richard A. Davey
MBTA General Manager and
Rail and Transit Administrator
3
Message from Police Chief
Paul S. MacMillan
W
e present our 2008-2009
Report to all Transit Police
personnel, to T riders and to
our colleagues in the MBTA
as expression of our commitment to crime
prevention on America’s first and best mass
transit system. The prevention of victimization and crime always will be our number
one priority. The work presented in these
pages builds on more than 40 years of doing everything we can to ensure a safe and
secure ride on the T.
The MBTA Transit Police Department employs a diverse and talented workforce who
utilize a comprehensive approach to ensure
a safe haven for riders and employees. To
promote innovation, diversity, mutual respect and teamwork, the Department will
continue to foster open communication both
internally and with partners and stakeholders at the local, state and federal levels.
The T is a very low-crime environment. In
a system that carries 1.3 million riders annually across tens of thousands of route miles,
827 Part One crimes were reported in 2009.
Of that total, 522 were larcenies. In 2009,
crime on the system was down 21% from
2008 and was at its lowest level in 30 years.
4
The Department will continue to infuse a
high level of accountability throughout its
ranks, from Command Staff to line Officers.
This commitment is founded on the Department’s Core Values: Fairness, Truthfulness,
Professionalism, Perseverance, Treating all
Persons with Dignity and Respect, Service
Before Self, and Integrity.
We thank your for your willingness to
work with us to maintain a safe haven on
the T.
Paul S. MacMillan
Chief of Police
Our Core
Values
T
means that all employees, from the very top
of the organization to the bottom, admit
mistakes when they are made, and take responsibility for their decisions.
Fairness.
Police careers are much more than “just
a job.”
Transit Police Officers willingly and unwaveringly adhere to the high standards
that their vocation imposes upon them, and
are committed to doing their very best at all
times, under all circumstances. This commitment to excellence is the cornerstone of the
Department’s service model.
he Transit Police are driven by an internal set of values that are fundamentally important to Officers’ sense
of duty, both to the community and
to each other. We recognize that Officers are
required to exercise lawful, professional discretion in carrying out their duties. We will
adhere to our Core Values in the exercise of
discretion.
Everyone should be treated the same way,
and established rules must be enforced impartially. Internally, fairness means that all
employees must be held to the same standards, and that no deviation will be made
because of personality, friendship, or similar
factors. Externally, fairness means the same
thing. Criminal laws establish the limits of
acceptable behavior, and those laws must be
enforced as impartially as possible, without
favor or personal bias. As guardians of the
law, Officers have an extraordinary obligation to adhere to the law, and no deviation
from that standard can be tolerated.
Truthfulness.
Truthfulness is interpreted in the broadest
sense. It is more than avoiding outright lies.
Rather, it is an implied spirit of transparency
that requires even unintended misperceptions to be corrected when discovered rather
than allowing them to persist. Truthfulness
Professionalism
Perseverance
Policing is simultaneously the most rewarding and the most difficult of jobs. We
commit to persevere in our values in the face
of the chaos, danger and fear that we must
address and manage in carrying our duties
to the public.
Treating All Persons With
Dignity And Respect.
Service Before Self
We pledge to put service before self. Generally speaking, individuals do not seek a
career in policing because it is lucrative or
exciting, but rather, because of a sincere
desire to help others in times of need. It is
important not only to serve the community,
but also to remain free of any conflicts of
interest that might tarnish the Department’s
reputation or standing.
Integrity.
We are committed to the highest standard
of ethical conduct. At the MBTA Transit Police
Department it is defined as avoiding even
the appearance of unethical behavior. The
nature of policing is such that most of the
Officer’s work is done out of sight of their
supervisors. Officers take pride in knowing
that they can be relied upon at all times on
to conduct themselves in a way that reflects
favorably on the Police Department and on
the profession itself.
Regardless of a person’s position in life,
we will treat him or her with utmost dignity
and respect. Bias must be avoided in all its
manifestations, both internally and externally, so that dignified and respectable treatment of all people can be assured.
5
Crime at Lowest
Levels in 30 Years
2008 Part I Crime Make-up
Auto
Theft, 27 Breaking and
2%
Entering, 10
1%
Aggravated
Assaults, 103
10%
Homicide, 1
0%
Rape, 2
0%
Robbery, 208
20%
Arson, 0
0%
Larceny, 701
67%
1,052 Part I incidents reported in 2008.
2009 Part I Crime Make-up
Aggravated
Assaults, 88
11%
Auto
Theft, 17 Breaking and
2%
Entering, 8
1%
Rape, 2
0%
Robbery, 189
23%
6
try policing” as a crime strategy. It is a way
of looking for criminal behavior, suspicious
behavior and people who fare evade at the
point where they enter the train station.
Fare-evasion citations increased from 1,267
in 2008 to 2,864 in 2009, according to the
MBTA. A number of people who have been
stopped for fare evasion have also been
placed under arrest for outstanding warrants and other serious crimes.
Homicide, 0
0%
Larceny, 522
63%
827 Part I incidents reported in 2009.
Larceny Breakdown:
2008 vs. 2009
300
282
2009
Number of Incidents
250
Part I & Part II Statistics:
2008 vs. 2009
Number of Incidents
2008
174
167
162
150
124
114
113
72
2009
32%
Increase
4,936
50
2008
4,000
2,000
0
From Motor Vehicle
Bikes
8
Shoplifting
Pick Pocketing
Other Larceny
2008 Larceny Breakdown
21%
Decrease
1,052
7
0
3,742
3,000
1,000
200
100
5,000
827
Part I
Part II
Bikes, 124
18%
Part I Statistics: 2008 vs. 2009
800
2009
701
700
Number of Incidents
C
rime on the MBTA is at its lowest
level in 30 years. In 2009, a total of
827 major crimes were reported last
year, 21 percent fewer than 2008.
The number of aggravated assaults fell from
103 in 2008 to 88. There were no homicides.
But the biggest drop was larcenies, which
fell 26 percent from 701 to 522. Robberies
decreased nine percent from 208 to 189.
Robberies, which are considered a violent
crime, occur when the victim is confronted
and placed in fear by the thief. Larcenies
are thefts that take place when a victim is
caught unaware by the perpetrator, who
swipes a person’s wallet or purse without
physical violence or placing the victim in fear
for their safety.
Chief Paul MacMillan said the decrease in
such property crimes is partly due to a public
awareness campaign that Transit Police have
launched urging people, particularly teenagers, to guard electronic items like iPods,
iPhones, Sidekicks, and cell phones. “We
continue to stress the importance of being
aware of your surroundings, especially if you
are texting or using any hand-held electronic
device”, MacMillan said in a statement.
Another factor is the agency’s emphasis
on catching fare jumpers, police said. The
MBTA Transit Police Patrol Division under the
direction of Deputy Chief Joseph O’Connor
has continued to emphasize “point of en-
Arson, 1
0%
Pick
Pocketing, 114
16%
Auto Theft, 174
25%
Shoplifting, 7
1%
Other*, 282
40%
2008
600
522
500
400
300
100
0
701 total incidents reported in 2008.
208
189
200
* Other larcenies include larceny of cell phones (Sidekicks),
iPods, copper wire, etc.
103 88
1 0
2
2
Homicide Forcible Rape Robbery
27 17
10 8
Aggravated
Assaults
Burglary
Larceny
Vehicle
Theft
0 1
Arson
TPSA-1 Part I Crime
Comparison
Shoplifting, 8
2%
Pick
Pocketing, 72
14%
Other*, 167
31%
Auto Theft, 162
31%
112
2008
84
57 48
56
28
250
2009
129
112
Number of Incidents
Bikes, 113
22%
140
TPSA-3 Part I Crime
Comparison
1
2
26%
Decrease
* Other larcenies include larceny of cell phones (Sidekicks),
iPods, copper wire, etc.
Auto Theft
Burglary Forcible Rape Larceny
Robbery
300
Vandalism,
400
11%
Loitering,
322
9%
2008
Disorderly
Conduct, 396
11%
Other Offenses, 44
1%
158
120
60
19 11
Fraud Offences**,
1,534
41%
Simple
Assaults, 532
14%
Liquor Law
Violations, 40
1%
180
11
3
3
2
1
1
Burglary Forcible Rape Larceny
Robbery
115
2009
2008
79
80
61
60
50
40
20 16
30
25
1
0
Auto Theft
Larceny
20
0
Assault
1
Forcible
Rape
100
Number of Incidents
DUI, 12
0%
Weapons
Violations, 20
1%
Counterfeiting, 44
1% Trespassing, 151
4% Drunkenness*, 19
0%
1
Criminal
Homicide
120
2009
262
Number of Incidents
Drug Offenses, 144
4%
2 4
Assault Auto Theft Burglary
TPSA-4 Part I Crime
Comparison
240
Stolen Property, 15
0%
70 75
36 34
15 9
TPSA-2 Part I Crime
Comparison
2008 Part II Crime Make-up
100
0
Assault
522 total incidents reported in 2009.
150
1
0
2008
173
50
18 18
2
2009
195
200
Number of Incidents
2009 Larceny Breakdown
Robbery
Arson
1
Assault
3
Auto Theft
4
Burglary
Larceny
Robbery
Indecent Assaults, 69
2%
3,742 Part II incidents reported in 2008.
* Although Drunkenness is not a crime in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it is a reportable
offense in accordance with the FBI’s National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
** Fraud offenses include offenses of fare evasion, which are the vast majority of all fraud offenses.
System-wide Statistics
System Wide Statistics
2009 Part II Crime Make-up
UCR Group
Part I Totals
Arson
Vandalism, 337, 7%
Assault
Drug Offenses, 112, 2%
Loitering, 161, 3%
Disorderly Conduct, 344, 7%
Fraud Offences**,
3,085
64%
Drunkenness*, 42, 1%
Simple
Assaults, 484
10%
Trespassing, 152, 3%
Stolen Property, 17, 0%
DUI, 6, 0%
Burglary
Weapons Violations, 11, 0%
Other Offenses, 56, 1%
Liquor Law Violations, 20, 0%
Indecent Assaults, 60, 1%
Counterfeiting, 49, 1%
Sub-Group
Firearms
Hands/Fists/Feet
Knife/ Cut
Other Weapon
Attempted
Forcible
Unlawful
Criminal Homicide
Manslaughter
Murder
4,936 Part II incidents reported in 2009.
* Although Drunkenness is not a crime in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it is a reportable
offense in accordance with the FBI’s National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
Forcible Rape
Assault to Rape
Rape by Force
** Fraud offenses include offenses of fare evasion, which are the vast majority of all fraud offenses.
Larceny-Theft
Bikes
From MV
Other
Pick-Pocket
Shoplifting
TPSA Part I Comparison
2008 vs. 2009
350
Number of Incidents
319
316
100
206
182
2008
296
250
150
Autos
Stolen Other Vehicle
Trucks/ Buses
2009
300
200
Motor Vehicle Theft
Robbery
Firearms
Knife/ Cut
Other Weapon
Strong Arm
211
191
158
12%
Decrease
40%
Decrease
7%
Decrease
25%
Decrease
TPSA 1
TPSA 2
TPSA 3
TPSA 4
Part II Totals
Simple Assaults
Grand Total
1999
1321
2
2
143
8
0
45
90
36
10
24
2
0
0
0
3
1
2
852
72
394
143
227
16
101
100
0
1
184
20
50
6
108
437
437
1758
2000
1095
3
3
137
9
0
46
82
26
6
19
1
1
0
1
4
0
4
642
61
246
128
193
14
64
64
0
0
218
24
52
3
139
471
471
1566
2001
1233
1
1
144
5
0
61
78
35
12
22
1
1
0
1
4
2
2
800
105
255
168
261
11
60
60
0
0
188
21
47
3
117
518
518
1751
2002
1144
4
4
125
6
0
40
79
37
7
28
2
1
1
0
3
1
2
674
74
267
123
202
8
73
72
0
1
227
21
54
4
148
487
487
1631
2003
1215
2
2
152
7
12
38
95
36
3
32
1
3
0
3
4
4
0
705
58
299
125
210
13
83
82
1
0
230
31
54
8
137
585
585
1800
2004
1009
2
2
127
3
14
31
79
15
0
15
0
2
0
2
1
0
1
636
81
218
131
188
18
46
46
0
0
180
10
26
25
119
555
555
1564
2005
1000
1
1
162
9
16
47
90
26
0
26
0
2
1
1
3
3
0
550
98
159
151
123
19
41
41
0
0
215
17
29
25
144
618
618
1618
2006
971
0
0
135
4
12
37
82
18
0
18
0
0
0
0
3
3
0
541
88
143
188
112
10
46
46
0
0
228
21
17
29
161
623
623
1594
2007
874
0
0
112
10
9
26
67
15
0
15
0
1
0
1
2
2
0
506
102
155
148
83
18
55
55
0
0
183
9
26
22
126
565
565
1439
2008
1052
0
0
103
5
9
31
58
10
0
10
0
1
0
1
2
1
1
701
124
174
282
114
7
27
27
0
0
208
15
13
24
156
532
532
1584
2009
827
1
1
88
5
7
24
52
8
0
8
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
522
113
162
167
72
8
17
17
0
0
189
12
20
16
141
484
484
1311
50
0
7
Point-of-Entry Policing:
Fixing “Broken Windows”
on the T
T
he Transit Police are achieving dramatic results with an anti-crime
initiative that traces its roots to the
thinking of a former regular rider on
the MBTA.
George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson
offered the hypothesis that there is a link
between disorder and crime. Where disorder goes unchecked, they said, crime will
grow. Their idea has become known around
the world as “the Broken Windows Theory.”
Kelling was a Harvard research fellow and a
regular MBTA rider on the T’s No. 1 bus, the
Harvard Square to Dudley Square route. So
it’s only apt that one of the most effective
applications of that idea is now taking place
on the T, through the implementation of the
Transit Police Department’s Point-of-Entry
Policing Strategy.
8
Point of Entry Policing deploys Transit officers at entrances into the MBTA system selected through an analysis of crime patterns,
crime forecasting and intelligence gathered
by officers and their partners. It places officers at those entry points where they have
the greatest opportunity to intercept offenders attempting to gain access to the system
and its riders.
Innovation from a Transit
Police Service Area (TPSA)
In January, 2007, the
state legislature changed
the fare evasion law granting Transit Police Officers
the authority to issue
non-criminal citations for
fare evasion. TPSA 3 developed and implemented
a “Broken Windows” strategy for preventing crime
on their piece of the sys-
tem. “Operation AFC” (All Fares Collected)
was launched which deployed both uniform
and plainclothes officers to enforce the fare
evasion law. This group of officers knew that
when the New York City Transit Police Department began enforcing the law against
fare evasion in the 1990’s they found that
one out of seven fare-beaters had outstanding arrest warrants. They also discovered
that one out of every 21 evaders was carrying a weapon.
The NYC initiative was implemented by
former MBTA Transit Chief William J. Bratton, also in consultation with Kelling. Chief
Bratton has written, “the problems of crime,
disorder, and fare evasion were deeply interrelated, and therefore we would have to
form a coherent strategy to deal with them.
We began to refer to the ‘seamless web.’ Implicit in this was that our work on any one
of the three major problems would have an
impact on the others.”
At stations where fare enforcement was
proactively enforced, crime fell. Officers assigned to “Operation AFC” also began to
observe and address other violations in the
fare collection areas.
Increasing confidence for
riders
In 2008, Chief MacMillan adopted the
idea system-wide as a key tactic in the Department’s strategy for preventing crime and
fear. In Boston to date, Transit officers have
found that 10% of the fare evaders the officers are stopping are wanted on warrants
for more serious crimes. Transit Police Officers are preventing crime and increasing the
confidence of the riding public by demonstrating the basic rules are being enforced.
This sense that the system is under control
in turn enhances riders’ feelings of comfort.
The maintenance of order also diminishes
the opportunities for criminals. Point of Entry Policing is fixing broken windows on the
system.
By enforcing the rules strategically and
consistently at entrance points to stations,
trains and buses officers report being lauded
by paying patrons who appreciate seeing
them stopping fare evaders and other violators. They also report building strong rela-
tionships with MBTA employees and regular
riders.
On a recent Thursday morning, Transit Officers Larry Clark and Sean Payne went undercover as two men who looked like a lot of
other men riding the subway that day. Moving separately but in coordination in stations
and subway cars, neither attracted attention.
They leaned; they sat “reading” the newspaper; they sauntered to the platforms. Each
kept up intensive observation while looking
like a guy heading inbound or outbound.
Then they saw a fare evader. Twice within
an hour that morning the two men stunned
would-be evaders, transforming in a blink
from those average riders into Transit Officers Payne and Clark by pulling their concealed badges into view. One evader was
trying to use her sister’s` student pass to get
an unlawful discount. Another used the tac-
9
tic of pushing through close behind a paying customer. The two evaders received the
citations to pay their fines or contest them
in court.
The officers said they stop evaders because the law-breakers are ripping off the
law-abiding Charlie card users. Also, they
know from experience that a significant
fraction of evaders are wanted on more serious warrants and are sometimes armed. Officer Payne says that when you “enforce the
basics, like paying for the ride you’re getting,
you seem to build up the larger feeling of
safety and order on the system.”
Where there’s smoke…
In a related initiative, the Transit Police
have stepped up enforcement of the
No Smoking Law in stations and vehicles.
They got the same result. Ten percent of
those flouting the safety and health of fellow riders by smoking were also wanted
on outstanding warrants. And with the
renewed focus of the past several years on
the transit system, rather than the surface
streets above and around the MBTA routes,
Transit officers are now issuing more citations for fare evasion and smoking than for
moving violations on the streets.
The effort is enhanced by the use of new
Pocket Cops: hand-held electronic devices
that the two undercover officers used to
10
checks warrants and other criminal justice
data bases.
Point of Entry Policing tactics also incorporate the Security Inspection Program
that was developed as part of the security
program for the 2004 Democratic National
Convention in Boston. Officers set up
screening station at PEP locations to check
bags carried onto the system. This will include using new trace detection technology
to check for explosives and other chemicals.
Deputy Chief Joseph O’Connor, who commanded TPSA 3 when they created the prototype fare evasion initiative, said, “The key
ingredients in a successful Point of Entry
Policing initiative are solid, real-time information and putting that information in the
hands of active officers and detectives who
are looking to make a difference.”
TPSAs Work to Cut Crime
T
he five Transit Police Service Areas
are the foundation of the Transit Police structure. They are working to
cut crime. Crime in 2009 was at its
lowest levels in 30 years. The MBTA has improved from a safe haven to even safer one
since the inception of the TPSA structure in
2003.
They are established to ensure accountability for addressing crime, fear and disorder across the 175 cities and towns served
by the MBTA. Each is led by a commander
who directs the work of the personnel assigned to his or her area and is accountable
for the quality of service delivered.
This approach enables TPSA commanders and personnel to respond effectively to
the individual issues and concerns of each
area. For example, in TPSA 4, with its center at the Orange Line’s Roxbury Crossing
station, youth issues are a top priority. In
TPSA 2, with its policing of stations such as
Wellington on the Orange Line and Alewife
on the Red Line, preventing thefts of commuter’s personal vehicles, both automobiles
and bicycles, is a major agenda item.
As you read the brief narratives that follow on each TPSA’s distinctive approach, the
TPSA structure has brought Transit Police officers into closer and more effective communication with the entire MBTA community.
Riders, MBTA employees and those who
operate businesses in and around MBTA
stations have realized the benefit of having
consistency in the police officers assigned to
their areas.
TPSA 2
TPSA 1
TPSA 4
TPSA 3
11
TPSA 1:
The first line of defense in crime
prevention strategy.
T
he Transit Police crime prevention
campaign against sexual harassment
and assault urges riders to report
any form of groping on the T. “Rub
against me and I’ll expose you,” reads the
palm card co-produced and distributed by
the Transit Police and the Boston Area Rape
Crisis Center.
In TPSA 1 under Lieutenant-Commander
Irene Reardon, that message is also a promise to potential offenders. Officers have kept
the promise many times. In January, 2009,
that promise came true for a 51 year-old
North Shore man who groped an undercover
female detective on the Blue Line in front of
Transit Officers Christopher Ahlborg, Nuno
Almeida and Tracey O’hLeary. “We take care
professionally of a truly diverse area,” Rear-
12
don said “but nothing is a higher priority for
us than protecting women riders from unwanted contact.”
The complex demands on TPSA 1 start at
South Station, home of the TPSA’s offices
and the hub for MBTA and Amtrak trains
and the interstate bus terminal that serves
nearly 6 million passengers annually, with
over 190,000 arrivals and
departures.
Transit personnel coordinate their crime prevention efforts at South Station through a monthly
Stakeholders Meeting that
they convene. Membership
is inclusive. At the table
one finds the Amtrak and
Boston Police, South Station’s Amtrak manager; the
US Postal Service Police,
the Federal Reserve Bank
of Boston; Equity management; South Station’s property manager Newman & Knight,
and other property managers in the area;
major businesses such as Fidelity Investments; management of the neighboring office tower One Financial Center; and others.
The communication established through the
meeting is carried on daily across the month,
creating a safety net for the millions of travelers using South Station each year.
And that same level of commitment
is felt in the in-town sections of the Blue,
Green, Orange, Red and Silver and bus lines
for which TPSA 1 is accountable. They take
a comprehensive approach. Officers work
with passengers to educate them about
keeping their personal possessions safe, especially the smaller electronic devices such
as iPods and cell phones. Such items can be
easily stolen from unwitting passengers and
thieves who know how to quickly unload
such stolen goods for the cash they seek.
The PEP strategy helps to reduce the number of offenders getting on the system and
officers work with merchants known to buy
“used” goods no questions asked to clean
up their business practices.
The key to maintaining a low crime rate
among the millions using these vehicles and
facilities, say TPSA 1 officers, is partnering
with stakeholders in each section. Together,
they maintain, these collaborations will continue to make a ride through TPSA 1 the safest part of anyone’s travel day.
13
TPSA 2:
Ahead of the curve on an
underestimated crime:
grand theft bicycle.
O
n a recent weekday afternoon at
the Alewife T Station parking facility there appeared to be almost as
many bicycles in the East and West
bike cages as cars in parking spaces. Alewife
sits at the eastern terminus of the Minuteman Bicycle Trail and the northwestern end
of the Red line. There, bikes meet trains and
buses.
The station may receive as many as 2,000
bicycle commuters daily, with some riding in
from as far away as Bedford, MA. The commuters who lock up at Alewife are pedaling commuter vehicles that can cost from
$2,000-$3,000. A bicycle theft, like larcenies from autos, is usually a serious larceny
(valued over $250). Thefts nationally total in
the hundreds of millions of dollars in value.
As with autos, a significant share of bike
theft involves criminal networks that reach
across jurisdictional lines; thieves sell bike
14
and parts in these networks and on eBay
and Craig’s List. TPSA 2 personnel have partnered with a number of other police departments and advocacy groups such as Mass
Bike and with commuters themselves to
reduce and prevent this crime. Participating
police agencies include, Arlington, Belmont,
Cambridge, Somerville, Harvard University
and MIT.
To reach bike commuters TPSA 2 regularly
does outreach next to the bike depots. At
one recent session, Transit Police were joined
by officers from Cambridge, Arlington, and
Somerville Police Departments, Police Officer
William Bice talked with several commuters
as they came to retrieve their bicycles for the
ride home. Lieutenant Commander Robert
Lenehan puts resources into outreach, Bice
said, because “It’s all about safety. We are
here to encourage riders to take what are
really simple steps that can prevent the theft
of a very expensive piece of property.”
The TPD message is getting across. Bice
handed one rider a palm card that included
seemingly basic but powerful tips such as
“Do not allow your lock to touch the ground,
as this makes it easier for the thieves to
break the lock.” The gentleman took the
card and thanked Bice. “I saw you here
last month,” he said, “I did go home and
write down my serial number.” (Police
anywhere in the country can identify a
bike registered with www.nationalbikeregistry.com)
In helping commuters on two wheels
as well as four wheels keep their valued
possessions safe, educating the riders is key.
Area personnel use the same approach in
others area, such as preventing suicides and
accidental deaths caused by young people
gathering too close to MBTA Commuter Rail
tracks and other rights of way. They work
with Middlesex DA Gerry Leone, the Belmont PD and Cambridge District Court on
court diversion programs for teens caught
breaking the law near tracks. One tactic
involves having the kids talk with train operators who have experienced the horror of
not being able to atop in time for a youth
on the tracks who was not paying heed to
the danger.
The Area also deploys officers such as Sal
Albano to work with the schools on its beat
to reduce and prevent problems with and
for students commuting on the T. They work
most closely with administrators, faculty and
students at East Boston and Charlestown
high schools.
North Station and the Boston Garden are
also high on the list of priorities. Area officers
work closely with Garden security people to
help ensure a safe and smooth trip home for
fans of the Bruins, Celtics and others who
play the Garden.
In the end, said Lieutenant Lenehan, “Our
effectiveness is maintained by maintaining
relationships, with our neighboring police
departments, with the riding public, our fellow MBTA employees and others, such as
vendors and other businesses who have a
stake in a safe, accessible transit system.”
15
TPSA 3: Point of Entry Policing at
its finest
O
perating from their new station
that sits in the heart of Mattapan
Square as well as next to Mattapan Station at the end of the Red
Line spur from Ashmont, Fleming said, “We
invite the pubic in. We have to have a customer-oriented policy, getting to know riders
and fellow MBTA employees. We help them
to help keep themselves safe.”
TPSA 3 personnel are just as creative in
carrying out the larger Transit Police mission.
One of these is addressing the illegal dumping of trash along the MBTA right of way.
Their main motivation for getting the mess
cleaned up is to reduce crime by reducing
disorder and the symptoms of disorder on
their beat. Officers recently worked with
the Commuter Rail to clean up a dumping
site along the right of way in South Boston
where a rape took place. Their objective is to
eliminate those spaces that attract a criminal element everywhere they can. They work
closely with the Transit Police’s graffiti van-
16
dalism expert Lieutenant Nancy O’Loughlin,
to decode the messages of the vandalism
for intelligence purposes, prosecute offenders and then to remove it as quickly as resources allow.
When young riders raised concerns about
safety on the Route 23 bus, which runs
between Ashmont and Ruggles stations
through Dorchester and Roxbury, police
from TPSA 3 invited them into
the crime prevention process.
Officers asked
them to organize their ideas
on how best to
prevent crime
and disorder. The
route has a stop
a hundred feet
from the Ella J.
Baker House, a
youth educational and development center
frequented by many of the young riders.
TPSA 3 is as active on the bus lines as any
officers in the Department. Consistent with
their commitment to crime-free bus travel,
TPSA 3 personnel met with young people
at the Baker House and came up with several good ideas to make the bus route safer.
With a tweak or two, TPSA 3 now deploys
the plan.
TPSA 3 must also contend with a variety
of other crime prevention challenges. At the
large parking facilities at the southern terminus of the Red Line in Braintree, officers
work to prevent motor vehicle theft and
theft from motor vehicles. As elsewhere in
Greater Boston, thefts of catalytic converters
were on the rise, with thieves looking to re-
cover and sell the platinum inside. They work
with motorists to teach them to put attractive items such as cell phones, GPS devices,
lap tops, briefcases and purses in the trunk,
out of plain view to thieves searching for
easily-fenced items and/or cash.
As you will read elsewhere in this report,
TPSA 3 officers like Sean Payne and Larry
Clark invest energy and talent in making the
system-wide Point of Entry Policing strategy
successful.
Among the newer initiatives the Area is
pursuing is outreach to victims. One of the
Transit Police strategic goals is to reach out
to all victims, whether they pursue a case or
not. Officer Lisa Murkowski-Dupont is working on a comprehensive plan for victims’ services for TPSA 3.
When Lieutenant Commander Bill Fleming joined the Transit Police, he did not think
he’d be dealing with fare evasion and sanitation projects as valuable police tactics. But
when the strategy is preventing bad things
from happening to his riders on the T, Fleming said, “We are open to anything that is
lawful, practical and gets results.”
17
TPSA 4’s After-School Program:
Getting Students Home Safely
T
he Orange Line stations comprised by
TPSA 4 – Mass. Ave. to Forest Hills
— and the Green Line — B, C and
D lines west of Kenmore Sq. — make
school transportation safety a major priority
of officers’ work.
The Transit police in this TSPA and department-wide have become expert in supervising large groups of young people because of
their many years’ experience. Operation Stop
Watch and Operation Truancy Watch grew
out of this experience. The assignment system in the Boston public high schools sends
students all over the city. Students also are
coming and going to private schools in Boston and its suburbs. The movement of so
many students turns Forest Hills into a staging area for getting home.
On a recent afternoon about 20 minutes
18
before dismissal, Sergeant Kirk Donovan
made his way to Forest Hills to meet with his
officers. Officers Joe Bankowski and Chris
Dowd were already on hand. The three talked briefly in front of the information kiosk
that marks the central point in the station’s
lobby. Then the two officers split up to walk
the bus and train platforms and the lobby.
Minutes later the first groups of students
coming in from English,
Hyde Park and West
Roxbury highs schools
began to enter the station. Later, a smaller
group is made up of
students coming off the
outbound line from high
schools in other parts of
the city. Left unsupervised, the scene at the
station could easily turn
into a dangerously over-
crowd scene. Large crowds of jostling youths
are a recipe for creating fear in this transportation hub.
The officers’ job was to prevent overcrowding and keep the students’ commute
cool and smooth by keeping them moving
through the station and onto their buses
and trains. They said, “Our primary tool is
communication.” In action, they show patience and accessibility as they are stopped
by passengers looking for help in making
their way. Several times both officers share
smiles with students they have been seeing
at “the Hills” throughout the school year.
“Most kids are good,” said Sergeant Donovan. “They understand what we are asking
them to do and they do it. They just want to
get home without a lot of hassles.”
Lieutenant Mike Shea, commander of
TPSA 4 agrees with his Sergeant’s assessment. Even if there’s a problem, he said,
“it’s only a small handful of kids. Over the
years we have worked harder and smarter
to make it all go smoothly, for the kids – and
the thousands of other people riding with
them — who just want to get on the bus or
train and head home in peace.”
Shea said it is the TPSA’s goal to make
every ride as uneventful as possible for every rider. The vast majority of the 1.3 million
people who ride the T each day do so with
out fear or the reality of crime. Working to
keep it that way in TPSA 4 means working
with many partners to stop crime before it
happens. At Ruggles station, officers are
working with the neighboring Northeastern
University Police Department to develop a
kiosk as point of information and help. The
Area works with Boston Police and with their
colleagues in TPSA 1 on strategies to reduce
the incidence of thefts of popular electronic
devices such as cell phones and iPods.
Beyond the demands for service generat-
ed by the youthfulness of the ridership in the
Area, TPSA 4 tends to the full spectrum of
demands for police. They respond to calls, do
outreach to victims, and engage in directed
patrol. Seasonally, the Area is a key player
in crowd management policing for the Boston Marathon and Boston College football
games.
TPSA 4 fields an active Point of Entry Policing unit whose work already has shown
results. “We make a lot of warrant arrests,”
Shea said, echoing the experience of the department in every TPSA.
“We have a busy, diverse police area with
a wide variety of responsibilities that makes
us very active,” Shea said. “My people
wouldn’t have it any other way.”
19
TPSA Headquarters: A Finger on
the Pulse of the System
I
n the MBTA Transit Police, dispatchers can
get to the scene of the crime before the
fast-responding patrol officers, while never leaving their stations. With the installation of state-of-the-art monitoring technology at the communications center at Transit
Police Headquarters, dispatch personnel use
the MBTA’s extensive camera and video system to get to many calls first.
Lieutenant Commander Steve Salisbury
oversees these historic developments in the
role and capacity of police dispatch at the
Transit Police “nerve center” at 240 Southampton Street. Since the earliest days of
dispatching police by telegraph or simply
yelling for the cops, the goal of dispatch has
been to get the police there as quickly as
humanly possible. Now, dispatch not only
sends the officers very quickly, but can get
to the scene first. It’s all part of the job of
his TPSA, Salisbury said, “Keeping a finger
on the pulse of the system using the most
modern equipment and tactics we can possibly provide.”
From their stations in the center, Headquarters personnel can train cameras on
most scenes of reported problems in a matter of seconds. With the information streaming into them, they can guide more precisely
the response of personnel rushing to the
location. “We can get real-time info on suspects, weapons, victims, potential hazards
20
and other info that is critical to officer safety
and to successful resolution of the situation,” Salisbury said, “whether it’s a crime or
medical emergency or any sort of threat to
passengers or officers.”
In stations in which sensing equipment is
paired with the cameras, the Transit Police
can respond to crimes before they happen.
Motion detection systems at several of the
hub stations on the T enable personnel to
pick up suspicious behavior before criminals
get the chance to complete the crime. The
sensors are programmed to distinguish between normal motion in a tunnel, e.g. the
movement of the trains, and suspicious ac-
tivity, such as a package or device thrown
into, or a person in, a tunnel.
The information technology also enables
Headquarters personnel to provide valuable real-time support to investigations and
active pursuits of subjects. If an identified
suspect is fleeing through T stations, personnel can freeze the image, convert it to
a computer jpg file and e-mail it to laptops
and blackberries of officers anywhere. In one
case, Transit Police personnel were alerted to
two violent suspects fleeing Mass. State Police from Lynn.
With their knowledge of the routes, Headquarters personnel hypothesized that the in-
dividuals would use a bus that originates in
Lynn and terminates at Haymarket Station.
They were right. The suspects were captured
by camera at the Haymarket turnstile. Transit
Police officers then captured the suspects for
real at South Station.
One of the newer applications of information technology to crime prevention will be
encouraging text messages from riders who
might see anything suspicious while on the
system. Texting while driving is dangerous;
texting while riding can enhance safety.
Soon Transit Police will augment its “See
Something, Say Something” campaign with
“Text Something”. A Transit Police Sergeant
will staff a computer at the MBTA Operations Center in downtown Boston to receive,
triage and take action where warranted on
information texted to police.
Lieutenant Salisbury put it this way.
“Whether we patrol a station or use IT
systems in Headquarters, our mission is to
be ahead of the curve for the riding public,
doing everything we can to make it a safe,
secure trip.”
21
The Anti-terrorism Strategy:
Networking Globally, Acting
Locally
T
he work to keep MBTA passengers
and employees safe from a terrorist
attack requires an expansive network
that includes everyone connected
with the transit system. Investigative Services Division Chief Lewis Best said, “We
rely now more than ever on all these parties to maintain the security and safety of
the system.”
The community of passengers, MBTA
Transit Police and all MBTA employees is
networked through lines of communication
that have been developed over the years,
especially since 9/11. The familiar request to
“say something” if they “see something,” is
part of this web. Keeping the network energized and informed is the Transit Police unit
that functions as the main server: the Intelligence Unit.
Lieutenant Anne McCall, commander of
the Unit, said, “The Intelligence Unit has a
two- fold purpose of gathering and disseminating information related to mass transit
threats, terrorism and crime as well as investigating and following up on all reported
suspicious incidents that could be a threat
to the MBTA.”
Through the unit, the Transit Police maintain local connections with the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) and the
Massachusetts State Fusion Center. They
also receive daily intelligence bulletins from
22
other transit police departments around the
country as well as some overseas alerts,
compiling transit specific intelligence from
a number of sources to keep officers informed of local and global threats. The unit
is a member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task
Force (JTTF), and works closely with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a
number of security related initiatives. The
unit is tasked with distributing security information to all rail and bus transportation
systems in Massachusetts, as well as public
and private transportation companies. They
participate in a daily intelligence calls sharing conference call with the US Attorney’s
Office, the FBI, DHS, the Boston Regional
Intelligence Center (BRIC) and the several
departments who are part of the Boston
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). Terrorism related information and threat related
information is shared among the parties
as is information on serious crimes and incidents that may impact one another’s jurisdictions. The Transit Police regularly learn
about connections between incidents that
span two or more communities or levels of
jurisdiction, i.e. state, federal and county.
The “Intelligence Bulletin” that they publish
weekly provides information and analysis on
rail incidents from around the world and on
new and promising anti-terror practices in
the field.
A key aspect of keeping MBTA Employees and Transit Police Officers engaged on
a daily basis is the training the unit provides
on terrorism awareness and suspicious behavior indicators. As part of the “see something, say something” strategy, they teach
these stakeholders how to recognize suspicious behavior and suspicious situations.
The MBTA recently completed an Incident
Management Training and Terrorism Awareness class for all MBTA Employees. The Intelligence Unit took the lead in educating
employees in suspicious packages, weapons of mass destruction and active shooter
situations. Specialty training is also provided
to Transit Police officers in the areas of behavioral detection and counter-surveillance
techniques.
In addition to their intelligence gathering,
investigations, dissemination and education
priorities, the unit is also in the process of
looking at new technologies that can aid
them in detecting a chemical threat before
it can cause casualties.
Intelligence operations are incorporated
in the Point of Entry Policing initiative. Members see this as part of the “layering of security” on the system. Information and trends
are analyzed on a daily basis and provide a
road map for patrol operations. Limited resources can be directed where the need is
shown or where a pattern develops.
As part of the anti-terror mission, the
Transit Police Special Operations Section
commanded by Lieutenant Jeremiah Collins maintains specialized units such as an
Explosives Detection (EDU), K-9, and Special
Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) in addition to
its Atlas Team (high visibility and tactical patrol unit) and Motorcycle unit.
Under the supervision of Sergeant Stephen Coveno, the EDU serves as a department-wide asset providing explosive detection, deterrence, and render-safe capabilities
throughout the MBTA system. Their expertise and professionalism resulted in the
quick resolution of many suspicious package
calls that had the potential to create chaos
on the system.
The SWAT Team has tailored their tactics
to respond to major incidents taking place
aboard crowded trains, buses, trolleys and
commuter boats. This is customized further
in the underground sections of the system,
where evacuations, hostage situations, investigations, EMS response and any other
emergency services must be provided in the
unique constraints of a subway tunnel.
The combined resources of the Patrol Division and the Investigative Division have a
common goal of keeping mass transit safe
from crime and the larger threat of terrorism, through new technologies, partnerships
and good police work.
23
The Transit Police at 40:
Decades of Growth and Change,
Working to Keep Every
Rider Safe
I
n the firestorms of 1968, Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated; riots rocked America’s inner cities.
Crime and fear of crime as we have come
to know them had just established themselves as permanent features of American
urban life. A few years earlier, the Authority
had looked over an already-changing environment within and without the transit system and concluded that the system needed
a full-time professional police organization
to address crime and fear. Jeremiah P. Sullivan, a Boston Police Superintendent, had
been hired in 1965 by the MBTA to develop
a new, specialized police department for the
growing mass transit system it governed. The
new service was ready to go in the midst of
the turmoil that was “The year that changed
the world.” (TIME magazine)
In October, 1968 the state legislature authorized the MBTA Police Department under
the provisions of Massachusetts General
Law, Chapter 31. The law conferred on the
new department full jurisdiction in the cities
and towns that the MBTA then served.
On December 9, 1968, in a ceremony at
the Metropolitan District Commission Police
Academy in South Boston, Chief Francis X.
McCarthy succeeded Chief Sullivan. Chief
McCarthy had the honor of administering
the oath of office to the first MBTA Police
Officers. That 27-member force reported for
24
duty at the Department’s
first Headquarters at
Dudley Station.
The men and women
of the Department have
been improving ever
since their ability to
maintain safety in the
complex environment of
a mass transit system, as
each decade has brought its new challenges.
The MBTA, formed from the 14-community MTA that operated Boston’s mass
transit system for most of the post-WWII
period, comprised 78 cities and towns at
its creation. That network of communities
has now grown to comprise 175 cities and
towns with a total service area of 3,244
square miles. Chiefs John L. Faherty, William
J. Burke, Richard E. Kenney, John V. Dow and
Richard L. Whelan led the Department, in
succession, through its first decade-plus of
growth.
Mike on the MBTA:
A Lifelong rider – and Threeterm Governor – Reflects
on the History of the Transit
Police Department
Former Governor Michael S. Dukakis was
perhaps the MBTA’s most recognizable rider when he commuted from his Brookline
home to the State House during his three
terms as governor in the 1980’s. He applied
his first-hand experience with the system to
make strategic investments in the leadership
and strength of the TPD that are still felt today. The historical thread leads from the appointment of Bill Bratton as chief to 1983 to
Bratton’s hiring in that same year of a young
recruit named Paul MacMillan.
Reflecting on the TPD’s history from his office at Northeastern University, now-Professor Dukakis remembers that some notorious
incidents on the system in the early 1980’s
moved him to make safety on the MBTA a
priority of his second term (1983-1987).
“If the system was not viewed as safe,” he
said, “people were not going to ride it if they
had a choice.”
The former governor tasked Transportation Secretary Fred Salvucci, MBTA GM Jim
O’Leary and Public Safety Secretary Charlie
Barry to serve as point personnel on the effort. Salvucci and O’Leary agreed to recruit
Boston Police Superintendent Bratton to be-
come the chief executive of the T police as
part of a larger investment in much-needed
improvements (see main article). The results
spoke for themselves: double-digit deceases
in crime and the MBTA Police becoming the
first department in Massachusetts and the
first Transit Police Department in the country
to be accredited by the national Commission
on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).
Some of the reforms Dukakis championed,
such as recognition of the unarmed policing
powers of MBTA starters and inspectors, did
not survive after he left the State House in
1991. But the Plan of Action of 2003 and
the Strategic Plan for 2009-2014 were built
on the foundation made possible by the
MBTA’s first straphanger governor.
Accreditation and Crime
Reduction
By the early 1980’s, the Department was
beginning to attract more substantial state
support for its mission. It was ready to make
some important strides. Governor Michael S.
Dukakis appointed William J. Bratton chief
in 1983.
In his book Turnaround, Chief Bratton
reflected “For the governor to swear in the
MBTA chief of police was very significant.
The power of the state was being placed
behind my small department.” The Dukakis
Administration granted $6 million to the De-
partment for a new, seven-point anti-crime
plan. The men and women of the Department – now numbering 65 sworn personnel
-- and their chief responded to the support.
Within the three years of Bratton’s tenure,
they would cut crime by 27%. Bratton wrote,
“the cops worked, the crime rate in the subways dropped…a police department that
for years had received nothing but negative
publicity began to receive a series of very
positive stories.”
(Bratton would go on to be recognized
internationally as the top turnaround expert
in policing, for his work in the New York City
and Los Angeles police departments.)
“Al Sweeney and I were riding the
subway in full uniform the day he was
hired (as deputy chief). An inspector
came walking down the train shouting to everyone, ‘You have to get off,
we’re changing cars. The next train is
going to take you all the way through.
This car is going out of service.’
We stood there.
‘Gentlemen, you’re going to have to
exit the vehicle.’ He came closer and
looked at us. ‘Jesus Christ, I thought
you were admirals. You’re the chief of
police? We’ve never seen the chief of
police down here. What’s wrong?’
You can never overstate the effect
of the chief of police showing up in a
subway station…I wanted to let them
know we were there. This was where
we were going to be from now on, on
the scene with the troops.”
- from Turnaround
Former Chief Thomas P. Maloney served
as deputy chief (1985-87) and was appointed as chief in 1987. He remembers a
Department coming into its own as he assumed the top job. The strength had grown
to 110 sworn personnel by the end of 1986.
Included in that new hiring, in the class of
November 1983, was a young recruit named
Paul MacMillan, who 25 years later would
become the first MBTA chief to come up
through the ranks. Also in 1986 the Department won accreditation from the national
Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Bratton wrote of the
achievement, “We met 800 standards of
excellence to become only the 13th department in the country to be accredited…quite
a turnaround in three years.”
Maloney, whose tenure spanned four
years, recalled, “Accreditation took a lot of
work by every member of the department to
one degree or another to accomplish but it
was a goal that heralded to the public that
the TPD was the equal to or better than
other police departments in the Common-
25
Police Academy Staff 2009
wealth, in its approach to providing police
services.”
Looking back, Maloney, now a
Lieutenant-Detective in the Boston
Police Department, offered this perspective on the changes in the Transit mission that he’s witnessed since
serving as chief. “The Transit PD has
grown exponentially in size and responsibilities since the mid 1980’s.
The rapid growth of the commuter rail
system from Worcester, to Providence,
to the South Shore, and the Silver Line
has required the TPD to increase the
personnel levels to cope with the increased geographical responsibilities
as well as the increased ridership. In
addition, in the aftermath of 9/11 the
dynamics of policing a transit environment have changed drastically. The
transit environment is by its nature a
vulnerable one. The TPD must provide
a secure environment, one that allows
freedom of movement and access
without fear and at the same time be
prepared to prevent and respond to
terrorist threats.”
26
New Challenges and New
Leadership, Post-September
11
John R. O’Donovan, known universally in
police circles as “O’D”, served as chief for
most of the 1990’s. After a distinguished
career in the Massachusetts State Police,
Chief O’D led a period of growth at the TPD
that included moving the Department into
its current headquarters at 240 Southampton Street. “This is a challenging and unbelievable opportunity for me,” the former
Chief told The Boston Globe at the time of
his appointment. “This is a proud police department with good, talented people,” said
O’Donovan, who was succeeded by Thomas
O’Loughlin, now chief in Milford, MA.
In 2003, the state reached out to Joseph
C. Carter, a former BPD Superintendent and
police chief in Oak Bluffs, MA. Chief Carter
took over at a time when the forces described by Maloney were pressing down on
the Department. One of the most critical issues facing the organization was the need
to untangle its complicated interactions with
young people. That was a significant issue
because approximately 60,000 school age
children were riding the system each day to
Boston Public Schools, the majority of whom
are students of color.
At the same time the Transit Police were
sorting out what Chief Carter called “the
significant shift in the transit security paradigm industry wide in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.”
“Consequently,” he said, “in addition to
the need to provide ‘traditional’ police services on America’s fourth largest mass transit system, we also found ourselves in the
vanguard of modern homeland security.”
Chief Carter launched a strategic planning initiative that involved stakeholders
from inside the TPD and its community of
riders and fellow employees ad others to
help the Department “re-evaluate itself, its
people, and its mission to identify and enhance our core functions.”
The work produced a sweeping Plan of
Action for the department that addressed
the most pressing issues and to “provided
the vision, values and mission guidance to
change the manner of policing for the betterment of the transit community and the
agency.” The Plan included:
• Re-branding the agency from the MBTA
Police Department to the “MBTA Transit
Police Department”, to project to the
riding public that the core competency
would be transit policing.
• Creating the Transit Police Service Areas
(TPSA) to decentralize accountability and
ownership. The lieutenants who command the TPSAs were empowered to
identify and solve problems in their area
On January 18, 2009, 18 members of the MBTA Transit Police
Department travelled to Washington, DC to augment the WMATA Police
in providing law enforcement services to the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transportation Authority during the Inauguration of Barack Obama
as the 44th President of the United States. Under the command of
Lieutenant Robert Lenehan, and the supervision of Sergeants Kenneth
Green and Francis Murray, these 12 patrol officers and 3 bomb dog/
handler teams were assigned to the L’Enfant Plaza, Capitol South, and
Farragut West Stations. After training, the officers were sworn in as
special deputy US Marshals. On Inauguration Day, the officers worked
for over 17 hours. The crowds were staggering; with an estimated
110,000 people using L’Enfant Plaza Station alone. This station has a
normal daily passenger flow of 37,000. The officers of the MBTA Transit
Police Department performed with distinction, and there were no major
incidents in their areas of responsibility.
of command by establishing relationships
with the stakeholders in that area.
• Mounting a fast track effort to re-accredit
the Department from the Commission
on Accreditation for Law Enforcement
Agencies and the Massachusetts Police
Accreditation Commission.
•Established the STOPWATCH program
and an effective Community Advisory
Committee.
In anticipation of the July 2004 Democratic National Convention, the Transit Police
created and implemented the Nation’s first
baggage inspection policy for mass transit
to increase security for riders and address a
glaring weakness in system security in addressing potential terror incidents. The policy
carefully balanced the need to respect the
privacy rights of the customers with our obligation to protect the riding public. Utilizing state of the art explosive trace detection
equipment, the MBTA Transit Police Department established a transit security policy
and practice that is now an industry wide
standard practice.
“Overall, I believe that my years
as MBTA Transit Police Chief were
successful because our officers were
willing accept the challenge of evaluating themselves and demonstrating
the competency, professionalism, and
determination needed to resolve and
convert the image of the Transit Police
Department that was so detrimental
to the necessary trust and confidence
of the community. All our efforts would have failed if not for their
devotion to duty and commitment to
transit policing.
“I am deeply proud of every member of the Transit Police Department
with whom I served and I consider my
time there the most rewarding of my
police career.”
– Major General Joseph Carter,
NGMA
Chief Carter, elected president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in
2006, served until Governor Patrick in 2007
appointed him adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard.
“Security, competence and
professionalism”
In 2008 the MBTA marked the beginning
of the Department’s fifth decade of service
in a fitting way, by making Paul MacMillan
the first member of the MBTA Transit Police
to become chief. The appointment marked a
milestone in Chief MacMillan’s distinguished
career; throughout his career Chief MacMillan had been the go-to manager in the De-
partment, from its first accreditation process
to shaping the model youth outreach programs StopWatch and Truancy Watch.
MacMillan’s appointment also served as
a benchmark for a police department literally coming into its own, he said, “Today we
continue to build on the best of the core values established by those who have served
before us. These include honor; service before self; treating all persons with respect
and dignity; and professionalism. On this
foundation of values we are building and
refining a police service ready, willing and
able to address the new challenges and opportunities we must address to maintain the
T as a safe haven for all.”
Former Chief Tom Maloney, now a partner with, and uniquely-informed observer of,
the Transit Police, captured the Department’s
readiness to succeed:
“I have more than a passing interest when
I see Transit officers on patrol and I can tell
by their equipment and their demeanor
that they are well trained and equipped (of
course 90% of today’s Transit Police officers
don’t know who I am when I talk to them).
Today’s Transit officers project an image of
high-level security, competence and professionalism.”
27
Office of the Chief
Leading the Way to Excellence
Achieving National
Accreditation & State
Certification
B
oth the national Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement
Agencies (CALEA) and the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC) have accredited the Transit
Police. The Department first won accreditation in 1986 under Chief William J. Bratton.
It has since been reaccredited two more
times once in 2005 and again in 2008.
Since the first CALEA is the primary method for agencies to voluntarily demonstrate
their commitment to excellence in law enforcement. The standards upon which the
Law Enforcement Accreditation Program is
based reflect the current thinking and experience of law enforcement practitioners and
researchers. Major law enforcement associations, leading educational and training institutions, governmental agencies, as well as
law enforcement executives internationally,
acknowledge CALEA’s Standards for Law
Enforcement Agencies© and its Accreditation Program as benchmarks for today’s law
enforcement agency.
28
The Chief’s staff
participates in
Toy Drive
Patrol Operations Division
The Blue Line That Operates 24/7
Against Crime
D
eputy Chief Joseph O’Connor commands the Patrol Operations Division. The Division comprises the five
TPSA’s discussed elsewhere in this
report; several specialized tactical units; and
the Midnight shift that keeps watch over the
system in the overnight hours. Deputy Chief
O’Connor said, “The cops are it. They are the
people making the difference.”
Special Operations Unit under the
command of Lieutenant Jeremiah Collins is
responsible for providing the Department
tactical support, the handling of situations
involving explosives and the handling of
situations involving Hazardous Material.
The Special Operations Unit comprises the
Special Operations Team (SOT), the Explosive
Detection Unit (EDU) and HAZMAT.
Special Operations Team is responsible for the tactical support to the Patrol
Force during hazardous incidents and/or
pre-planned raids.
Explosive Detection Unit and
HAZMAT employs specialized highly trained
officers and Explosive Detection Canines to
handle situations involving explosives and
related incidents. The Explosive Detection
Unit responds to all bomb threats, suspicious
items, abandoned items, hazardous devices/
conditions and emergencies on properties
and vehicles owned, utilized, operated by,
or in the control of the Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority. The Explosive Detection Unit also renders mutual aid to any
city or town when needed.
The Midnight Shift is a system-wide
unit whose officers patrol the system as it
closes down at the end of the operating day
and as it prepares to start its day in the early
morning hours.
Crisis Negotiation Team responds to
any hostage or barricaded person(s) situation.
Motorcycle Operations Patrol (MOP)
are responsible for providing strategic patrols to deal with special situations and
events.
or transit related functions (e.g., academy
graduations, police funerals, promotional
ceremonies, parades).
Crash Reconstruction provides specialized investigative services for all serious accidents that involve MBTA vehicles. This Unit
works closely with MBTA Safety and Transportation Departments.
Civil Disturbance Unit is responsible
for augmenting the Patrol Force in effectively
addressing any crowd control issues.
Detail Administration Unit manages
all overtime and paid detail assignments.
Responsibilities include ensuring compliance
with Department policies, rules and procedures as well as with all collective bargaining obligations.
Canine (K-9) Services for Transit Police provides strategic patrols to deal with
special situations and events related to their
specialized training.
Honor Guard represents the Transit Police Department and its members at official
law enforcement, government, community
29
Investigative Services Division
Fostering Partnerships for
Prevention and Crime-solving
U
nder the command of Deputy Chief
Lewis Best the ISD partners with a
wide variety of law enforcement, institutional and community entities,
across the MBTA system, across the country
and around the world. Their constant goal
is to keep riders safe on the T. Whether the
threat begins with a conflict at a local school
or in the plans of a terrorist group overseas,
ISD personnel are the Tran sit Police’s point
personnel for preventing harm and for apprehending the perpetrators when crimes
occur.
Deputy Chief Best said, “With our emphasis on prevention, we rely now more than
ever on our partners, whether it’s fellow
MBTA employees, riders older and younger,
school personnel or other law enforcement
agencies. Prevention is impossible without
partnerships.”
The Division carries out its mission through
the work of these major units.
30
Intelligence Unit
Crime Scene Services
The Intelligence Unit is responsible for
gathering recording and sharing intelligence
information relating to terrorism to keep
mass transit safe as well as gathering and
distributing crime statistics, trends and bulletins to all officers and partners. The Unit
also investigates all reported suspicious incidents that could be a threat to the MBTA.
Crime Scene Services is responsible for
processing all crime scenes. Detectives recover latent fingerprints, sketch and photograph scenes and recover physical evidence
for scientific processing and prosecution.
The unit also processes all requests from
within the MBTA and outside partners for
video evidence regarding criminal matters,
civil matters, media requests and court related requests. The responsibilities continue
to grow as the MBTA adds more cameras to
their stations, buses, trains and properties.
Criminal Investigation Unit
The Criminal Investigations Unit is responsible for investigating crimes and incidents
that occur on MBTA property and within
MBTA Transit Police jurisdiction, including
commuter rail incidents. The Unit conducts
all death investigations in conjunction with
the District Attorneys’ Offices and has primary jurisdiction for all criminal acts perpetrated on the MBTA Transit System. The Unit
is supported in its mission by Crime Scene
Services. Additionally, the Criminal Investigations Unit works in close partnership with
the Boston Police Youth Violence Strike Force
and numerous other local agencies on various investigative initiatives.
Juvenile Services
The Department’s Juvenile Detectives are
responsible for coordinating the interaction
and handling of juvenile offenders, their parents or guardians, and juvenile enforcement
programs. The Juvenile Detectives also lead
youth outreach efforts such as Stop Watch
and Truancy Watch.
Internal Security Section
The Internal Security Section is responsible
for internal security investigations within the
Authority, with particular attention focused
on revenue security.
Administrative Services
Division
Planning and Research
Professional Standards Unit
he Planning and Research Unit is responsible for planning and research,
project development, grant research,
the management of the accreditation
process, and liaison with the MBTA Real Estate and Design and Construction Directorates for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) issues.
The Planning and Research Unit is also
responsible for the staff inspections function. This Unit is responsible for inspecting
the Department’s facilities, property, equipment, personnel, and administrative and
operational activities, outside the normal
supervisory and line inspection procedures
and the chain of command. The Staff Inspections Unit will also ensure each operational
component completes all periodic reports,
reviews and other activities mandated by
applicable accreditation standards are accomplished.
The Professional Standards Unit ensures
that the integrity of the Department is not
compromised by the misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance of any employee of
the MBTA Transit Police Department. Responsibilities include logging and monitoring all citizen complaints, conducting investigations of alleged criminal complaints
against Police Officers, including civil rights
violations, and oversight responsibilities on
disciplinary issues to monitor adverse impact.
T
Court Case Management
The Court Case Management Unit is responsible for the preparation and application of criminal complaints, tracking and
scheduling trials and hearings, procuring
and distributing warrants, summonses and
subpoenas, and administering all other court
related activities.
Background Investigations
The Professional Standards Unit is responsible for conducting candidate screening
processes. The Criminal Investigations Unit
provides support for background investigations, as needed.
Recruitment and Promotion
The Recruitment and Promotion function
ensures coordination of the Department’s
activities concerning recruitment, selection
and promotion of personnel. Responsibilities include working with the Massachusetts
Human Resources Division (HRD) regarding
civil service employment.
31
The Roll of Honor 2009
F
rom one shift to the next MBTA Transit Police Officers live the values of
the Department. They are guided by
the commitment to service, valor and
selflessness that characterizes the men and
women of this Department. The members
listed below received commendations in
2009 for their exemplary work.
Go to http://www.mbta.com/transitpolice/
the_department/commendations_
and_awards to read about what these
outstanding police officers did.
Officers Joseph Rossi and Officer David
Jaime
Officers Chad Smith and Officer Scott Keller
Sergeant Jason Morris and Officer Nicholas
Morrissey
Lieutenant Robert Lenehan
Sergeant Kenneth Green
Sergeant Francis Murray
Officer Sean Connolly
Officer Maria Dear
Officer Andrew Galonzka
Officer Taylor Gregg
Officer Scott Keller
Officer Ann Garvey
Officer Brian Morse
Officers Shirley Ostine, Officer Kristine
Manning
Officer Duc Tran
Officer Steven O’Hara
Officer Sean Curry
Officer Jerry Antoine
Officer Thomas Yee
Officer James Sweeney
Officer John Plouffe.
Detective Fred Zakrzewski (ret.)
Officer Christopher Bueler
Officer Andrew Galonzka and Officer
Amanda Barouk
Officer Vincent Moy
2009 Officers of the Month
32
January: Daniel Pugliese
July: Nora Carroll
February: Benjamin Carrasco
August: Sgt. Stephen Coveno
March: Nicholas Morrissey
September: Vincent Moy
April: Michael Carney
October: Brian Quigg
May: Richard Lum
November: John Choi
June: John Donahue
December: Stanley Germain
Retirees:
A Time for the Department
to Say Thank You
2008 and 2009
Retirements
2008
Detective John Cantwell July 1985 – July 2008
Lieutenant Salvatore Venturelli November 1983 – September 2008
Deputy Chief John Martino
August 1979 – June 2008
Deputy Chief Dolores Ford
December 1981 – June 2008
Officer Stephen Pagliuca
July 1985 – July 2008
Detective Debra Campbell
November 1983 – November 2008
2009
Detective Robert Powers
July 1990 – January 2009
Detective Wayne Cole September 1985 – January 2009
Officer Walter Hooley
February 1994 – August 2009
Officer Gerard Fleming
January 1987 – November 2009
Detective Sergeant Peter Roy
February 1986 – November 2009
Sergeant Robert Don
May 1983 – December 2009
33
Promotions and Milestones
Promotions in
2008 & 2009
The following promotions
were made in 2008 & 2009
• Lieutenant Richard Campos
• Lieutenant Robert Fitzsimmons
• Lieutenant Kenneth Berg
• Lieutenant Christopher Maynard
• Sergeant Darren Keith
• Sergeant Kirk Donovan
• Sergeant Dennis Hong
Milestones in service in 2008 & 2009
In 2008 and 2009 the following Officers celebrated anniversary
milestones in years of service to the MBTA Transit Police
Department
35 Years of Service
20 Years of Service
Detective Charles Collins
Deputy Chief Lewis Best
Sergeant Michael Morris
Sergeant Enrique Rosario
Sergeant Francis Murray
Sergeant Brian Carey
Sergeant Mark Colombo
Detective Ardrena Lyles
Officer Brian Morse
Officer Frank Wolverton
30 Years of Service
Lieutenant Steven Douglas
25 Years of Service
Chief Paul MacMillan
Deputy Chief Donald O’Connor
Lieutenant Gary Fredericks
Lieutenant William Fleming
Lieutenant Nancy O’Loughlin
Lieutenant Ann McCall
Lieutenant Stephen Salisbury
Sergeant John Mahoney
Sergeant Gloria Andrews-Ward
Detective Joseph Leary
Officer Vincent Moy
Officer Jack Coughlin
Officer Paul Flynn
Officer Michael Cauley
Officer Peter McCarron
Officer Dorston Bartlett
34
MBTA Transit Police Contact
Information
Chief of Police
Paul MacMillan
617-222-1100
617-222-1035 (fax)
Command Staff
Joseph O’Connor
Deputy Chief of Police, Patrol
Operations
617-222-1131
617-222-1095 (fax)
Lewis Best
Deputy Chief of Police,
Investigative Services
617-222-1113
617-222-1095 (fax)
Donald O’Connor
Deputy Chief of Police
,
Administrative Services
617-222-1107
617-222-1195 (fax)
Office of the Chief
Administrative Offices
617-222-1100
617-222-1035 (fax)
Office of the Parking Clerk
617-222-1130
gselados@mbta.com
Transit Police
Service Area (TPSA)
Commanders
TPSA 1
Irene Reardon
Lieutenant Commander
617-222-2546
ireardon@mbta.com
TPSA 2
Robert Lenehan
Lieutenant Commander
617-222-2572
rlenehan@mbta.com
TPSA 3
William Fleming
Lieutenant Commander
617-222-2570
wfleming@mbta.com
TPSA 4
Michael Shea
Lieutenant Commander
617-222-6194
mjshea@mbta.com TPSA HQ
Stephen Salisbury
Lieutenant Commander
617-222-1001
ssalisbury@mbta.com
MBTA Transit Police Department
240 Southampton Street
Boston, MA 02118
Emergency:
617-222-1212
Business:
617-222-1000
Deaf or Hard of
Hearing:
617-222-1200 TTY
Department Units and
Unit Commanders
Criminal Investigations Unit
Mark Gillespie
Lieutenant Detective, Unit
Commander
617-222-1062
617-222-1038 (fax)
mgillespie@mbta.com
Criminal Investigations Unit
617-222-1050
617-222-1038 (fax)
Crime Scene Services
Kenneth Sprague
Sergeant Detective
617-222-1231
617-222-1038 (fax)
ksprague@mbta.com
Crime Scene Services
617-222-1025
617-222-1038 (fax)
Intelligence Unit
Anne McCall
Lieutenant Detective, Unit
Commander
617-222-1174
617-222-1036 (fax)
amccall@mbta.com
Intelligence Unit
617-222-1170
617-222-1036 (fax)
Anti-Terrorism Hotline
(for non-emergencies)
1-866-PREVENT
(Toll-Free, Nationwide)
617-222-TIPS
(Local)
transitpoliceintel@mbta.com
Special Operations Unit
Jeremiah Collins III
Lieutenant, Unit Commander
617-222-1232
jcollins@mbta.com
Special Operations Team
Eric White
Sergeant
617-222-1042
ewhite@mbta.com
Explosive Detection Unit
Stephen Coveno
Sergeant
617-222-1243
scoveno@mbta.com
Civil Disturbance Unit
Stephen Salisbury
Lieutenant Commander
617-222-1001
ssalisbury@mbta.com
Internal Security Section
John Mahoney
Sergeant-Detective
617-222-1160
617-222-1070 (fax)
Court Case Management
Gary Fredericks
Lieutenant-Detective
617-222-1183
617-222-1037 (fax)
Transit Police Academy
617-222-1987
617-222-1989 (fax)
dotoole@mbta.com
Training Unit
Kenneth Berg
Lieutenant
617-222-1033/1987
617-222-1022 (fax)
Professional Standards/
Accreditation
Robert Fitzsimmons
Lieutenant-Detective
617-222-1161
617-222-1035 (fax)
Technical Services
Anand Kolipakkam
617-222-1011
617-222-1041 (fax)
Detail Unit
Michael Morris
Sergeant
617-222-1023
35
In Memoriam
James J. Nichols Jr.
February 10, 1942 - July 19, 2009
Officer James J. Nichols Jr., an active member of the MBTA Transit Police Department, passed
away on July 19, 2009. During his 34 years with the department, he was a member of the K-9
Unit and also spent time as a patrol officer. Officer Nichols is a veteran of the U.S Army, 101st
Airborne Division.
He is survived by his wife Annette (Casella) Nichols; children James and Bryan Nichols
of Wilmot, Warren Nichols of Framingham, Massachusetts, and the late Karen Nichols; and
sisters Anne Mason of Florida, Elizabeth “Honey” and Christine Keating of Wellesley, Massachusetts, and the late Eileen Mason.
Richard H. Merrill
August 7, 1939 – August 18, 2010
Retired MBTA Detective and one of the original 27 MBTA Police Officers sworn in on December 9, 1968, has passed away. Detective Merrill retired in 1991, after serving twenty three
years as an MBTA Police Officer and previously serving as an MBTA Bus Operator. He last
served as a Detective in the Court Unit where he was very well known throughout the court
system.
36
Our Mission Statement
The mission of the MBTA Transit Police is to ensure a safe
environment within the transit system: to prevent crime, to
reduce fear, and to promote the confidence of the riding public.
Our fundamental duties are to safeguard lives and property
within our transportation system and uphold the constitutional
rights of all people. We accomplish this mission by following
a set of core values that reflect the finest nature of Policing,
which are: Fairness, Truthfulness, Professionalism, Perseverance,
Treating All Persons with Dignity and Respect, Service Before
Self and Integrity.