Boston City Councilors Push For Changes In Police Department
BOSTON (CBS) - Police funding was a topic discussed all day Tuesday in and around City Hall Plaza.
Working remotely, the City Council's Ways and Means Committee was hearing public testimony on the city's budget, which primarily focused on public safety funding.
"It's not so much about defunding it's really about how we are reallocating those resources to pour into support services like trauma informed practices, making sure we have more youth jobs and employment opportunities for young people," said City Councilor Julia Mejia.
Outside City Hall, Councilor Andrea Campbell was joined by leaders from several police unions calling for change inside the police department.
"Our advocacy around police must be two-fold, we must seek long term solutions to change policing as we know it and we need to take action on things we can do right now," said Campbell.
Eddy Chrispin, President of Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, believes more diversity within the police department will create positive change.
"Not that people of color and policing alone is going to solve the problem, but it will substantially eliminate some of the issues that people from the community have with police officers," said Chrispin.