14 Jan 1992

St. Clair Commission Findings

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St. Clair Commission Report 1992 Flynn Administration

Leadership Issues

  1. Transition To A New Police Commissioner To Lead The Boston Police Department
  2. Impose Requirement of Minimum Civil Service Rank For Command Staff

Strategic Planning

  1. The New Commissioner Should Create A Centralized Strategic Planning Unit And Work With It To Develop A Comprehensive Long Term Strategic Plan For The Entire Department
  2. Once The Strategic Plan Is Developed, Efforts Should Be Made To Communicate Effectively The New Strategy To All Levels Within the Department And To The Public 
  3. The Department Should Increase The Resources It Devotes To Research And Planning So That The Commissioner, The Command Staff, And All Boston Police Officers Have the Information Necessary To Engage In Problem-Solving In An Informed and Coordinated Manner

Community and Problem Solving

  1. The Department Should Develop A New Community Policing Strategy That Works In Partnership With The Community.

Supervision and Performance Appraisals

  1. The Department Should Reevaluate Its Allocation Of Superior Officers To Increase The Number Of Patrol Supervisors And Reduce The Span Of Control In High Crime Areas.
  2. The Department Must Increase And Improve The Supervisory Training Provided To New Sergeants.
  3. The Department Must Develop A Policy And Procedures Manual And Revised Rules And Regulations For Patrolmen And Patrol Supervisors.
  1. The Department Must Develop And Implement A Performance appraisal System For All Police Officers And Civilian Employees Which Is Consistent With The Department’s New Strategic Plan.
  2. The Performance Appraisal System Adopted Should Allow Evaluation Of Individual Officer’s Performance And Provide Feedback Both To Officers And To The Department. 
  3. The Department Should Develop And Inclement Better Methods To Hold Bureaus, Areas r Divisions And Units Accountable For Achieving Goals And Objectives Consistent With The Department’s Overall Strategy Of Community Policing.
  4. The Department Should Restore a Department-Based Budgeting Process Such That Each Unit Commander Prepares An Annual Budget Request, Is Provided An Annual Budget, And Is Held Accountable For Managing That Budget.

Training Issues 

  1. The Department Should Immediately Begin A comprehensive Review Of Its Training Needs.
  2. The Department Should Make A Commitment to A True Community Policing Program And This Philosophy Should Be Infused Into All Programs Presented At The Academy.
  3. The Department Should Revise And Expand The Existing Curriculum For Mid-Level Supervisory Training. This New Curriculum Should Include A Major Emphasis On Supervisory Skills Training, Accountability And Management Issues.
  4. The Department Must Make A Commitment To In-Service Training. Accurate Records Should Be Maintained Of Attendees And A Curriculum Which Meets Statutory Requirements And The Pressing Training Needs Of The Department’s Officers Must Be Developed And Implemented.
  5. The Facilities Of The Boston Police Academy Must Be Updated To More Adequately Serve The Training Needs Of The Department’s Officers. Particular Emphasis Should Be Placed On Increased computerization Of The Curriculum And Administration Of The Academy. 
  6. The Field Training Officer Program Should Be Placed Under The Jurisdiction Of The Training Academy And Instructors In This Program, Like All Academy Instructors, Should Be Subject To Regular Review And Evaluation Of Their Work.
  7. This Committee Has Been Impressed With The Offers Of Assistance From Faculty At Various Local Academic Institutions. The Department Should Take Advantage Of These Offers Of Assistance Particularly In The Areas Of Curriculum Development And As Presenters.
  8. The New Police Commissioner And Command Staff Should Consider The Reassignment Of The Former Academy Commander To His Previous Post As The Department Strives To Best Take Advantage Of The Strengths Available Within The Department.

Information Technology And Management Information Systems

  1. The Department Must Commit Itself to Developing and Implementing Sophisticated Management Information Technology Throughout The Department. In Order To Accommplish This:
    a) The New Commissioner Must Have An Appreciation For The Potential For Information Technology To Affect Police Department Operations And Performance.

b) The Department Should Form A Steering Committee To Focus on Developing Management Information Systems And Identifying Emerging Information Technology That Would Benefit The Department.

  1. Police Department Information Systems Should Be Designed To Provide Measures On The Performance Of Each Unit Within The Police Department And For The Department As A Whole. These Performance Indicators Should Routinely Be Made Available To Supervisors And Administrators Within The Department, And With Proper Safeguards On Confidentially, Indicators Should Also Be Made Available To The City Council And The Public.
  2. The City And The Department Need To Devote More Consistent Funding To Information Technology Projects.

Community Appeals Board 

  • After a comprehensive review of the Department’s handling of citizen complaints against police officers, the Committee has concluded that a limited Community Appeals Board must be created to oversee the investigation of IAD cases to ensure that they are thorough and timely and that the Department’s conclusion is consistent with the facts presented.

Recommendations for Improving the IAD Process

  1. The Department Should Establish A New Centralized Process For Investigating Citizen Complaints
  2. Once The Reorganization Of The Citizen Complaint Process Is Completed, The Department Should Develop Written Guidebooks In Several Languages That Explain The New Process And Complainants’ Rights When Dealing With The

Boston Police Department

  1. IAD Needs An Infusion Of Talented, Experienced Investigators And Improved Supervisory Practices To Ensure Thorough, High Quality Investigations
  2. To Attract, Reward And Protect Officers ??ho Work In The New IAD, These Officers Should Be Given Choice Of Their Next Assignment If They Request A Transfer After Working Three Or More Years In IAD.
  3. A Deadline of 90 Days Should Be Imposed For The Investigation And Resolution Of All Citizen Complaints Of Police Misconduct
  4. The New IAD Must Improve Its Documentation And Record Keeping

Deadly Force and Non-Fatal Police Shooting Cases

  1. The New Proposed Joint Investigation Of Deadly Force Cases In Boston Utilizing Boston Police Detectives But An Independent Lab For The Analysis Of Forensic Evidence Makes Sense And Should Be implemented . 
  2. This New Joint Approach Should Be Extended To Cases Involving Non-Fatal Shootings By Boston Police Officers By Way Of Changes In The BPD’s Internal Rules And Regulations.