Boston Municipal Protective Services
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Formerly known as the Boston Municipal Police (Munis or BMP) before the loss of its patrol division, the Boston Municipal Protective Services Department is a law enforcement agency for the City of Boston. The primary responsibility of the department is to enforce all laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ordinances of the City of Boston on and within all properties owned and operated by the City of Boston Massachusetts. This was in direct contridiction of the BPPA contract that stipulated that only Boston Police Officers would be the Police force in Boston.
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[edit] History
The formal founding date of the Boston Municipal Police is 1979. The department was created so the former Public Facilities Department (now known as Property Management) could have a fully functional police force to respond to alarms in schools and other City buildings when the City was experiencing many problems due to the bussing situation. The department at its origin consisted of unarmed officers; over time, the department consisted of both unarmed (site officers) and armed officers (patrol and superior officers). After the disbandment of the patrol division on January 1, 2007, the agency was renamed to the "Boston Municipal Protective Services," and is again currently an unarmed police force.
[edit] Jurisdiction
The Municipal police patrol officers had jurisdiction city wide and were sworn Special Police Officers under Boston Police Department Rule 400A with full police powers. Now as the Municipal Protective Services, the officers are limited to patrolling specific "sites" located throughout the City, but still hold full police powers and are licensed as Special Police Officers despite being unarmed. Their authority is derived from the Boston Police Commissioner and the Boston Police Department oversees its operations. The main agencies and departments serviced by the BMPS include the following city owned assets:
- Boston Police Department Property (which is already protected by the BPD)
- Boston Redevelopment Authority Property
- Community Schools Property and Employees (school police)
- Community Centers Property and Employees
- Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC) Property and Employees
- Inspectional Services Department Property and Employees
- Library Department Property and Employees
- Property Management and Construction Property and Employees
- Neighborhood Development Property and Employees
- The Boston School Department
- The City of Boston Cemeteries
- The City’s Parks and Recreation Facilities and Employees
- The Boston Transportation Department Property and Employees
[edit] Merger
In Mid-2006, Mayor Thomas M. Menino organized a merger of the Boston Police and the Boston Municipal police (which was really not a "merger" in the true sense of the word; the so-called "merger" was actually an opportunity granted to the Boston Municipal patrol officers to apply to the Boston Police Department as lateral transfers, although employment was not a guarantee). This prompted protest from the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association. The BPPA felt that the "Munis" were under trained and should not have been merged with the BPD. This is in contrary to the fact that all Municipal Police Officers have the same exact training as Boston Police Officers. Up to 60% of Municipal Police Officers have graduated from the Boston Police Academy. However,the real sticking point was that the Muni were not really Civil Service, although there was some shenigans that went on there. Despite the BPPA's objections, the Muni's who passed a vigorous background check, medical & psychological exam, as well as a physical agility test were transferred to the Boston Police Department December 31, 2006. There were only 33 who were transferred to the BPD. On January 1, 2007, the rest of the Muni's were either laid off or allowed to reapply to the City's Municipal Protective Services Department as site officers.
