Now more than ever, Boston recognizes the importance of public safety personnel. With a fatal 9-alarm fire still seared in our collective memory and the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings right around the corner, we’ve come to fully appreciate the price they pay on a daily basis to keep us all safe. Some cities, though, aren’t as fortunate.
NerdWallet conducted a nationwide study of 239 cities with a population of at least 100,000 or more to see which are best equipped with public safety services, should unforeseen circumstances occur. “Police, fire and emergency medical services are a vital component of every community, and cuts to these services can have drastic consequences,” writes the finance website.
The study aimed to find what level of investment cities make towards providing comprehensive policing services and the level of investment made towards providing comprehensive fire and emergency services.
Boston, as it turns out, ranks in the top ten overall – an aggregation of fire and police staff, staff per 10,000 resident and effect on crime.
NerdWallet credits freshly minted Police Commissioner Bill Evans with helping to curtail crime though the study admits that before he took the reigns, while still under the tutelage of Ed Davis, “Between 2010 and 2012 violent crime decreased by 9.5% and property crime fell by 11%.”
Similarly in 2010, “the Boston Fire Department responded to 69,859 total incidents, 72% of which received response in less than four minutes.”
When compared to other cities, Boston’s total police and fire staff was amongst the most heavily vested. Its 2,700 total police staff trailed only the 2,826 in Memphis, Tenn.; the 3,342 in Baltimore, Md.; and the 4,332 in Washington D.C.
Boston’s total fire staff proved to be equally able with its 1,660, trailing just the 1,745 in Baltimore and the 1,971 in Memphis.
But when juxtaposing those numbers to the staffers per 10,000 residents, Boston doesn’t fare as well. Only New Haven, Conn. and Memphis boast less than Boston’s 42.813 total police per 10K residents. As for fire, Boston’s 26.322 total fire personnel per 10K was a bit more middle of the road. Atlanta, Ga.; St. Louis, Mo.; Newark, N.J. and Washington D.C. all put up lesser numbers.
“Boston is also committed to providing a full array of fire and emergency medical services,” noted the study further.
According to the City of Boston’s FY 2014 budget, which runs approximately $2.6 billion, the pockets of the Boston Police Department and Boston Fire Department are lined with $248.41 million and $187.85 million respectively. Those figures each represent a solid 10.7 percent and 7.2 percent of the entire municipal budget.
Memphis, notes NerdWallet, committed 90 percent of its police budget to personnel in FY 2011. Though the study fails to represent whether such a financial pledge has had any recent consequences, for better or for worse, consider this. Boston’s current budget calls for roughly $245 million to be put towards personnel services – about 88 percent of the overall budget.
Likewise, Boston’s Fire Department budget is almost entirely for personnel. Of the total operating budget, approximately $171 million, or 91 percent, is designated for personnel services.
The moral of the story here, folks, is that investing in public safety does, in fact, pay off. NerdWallet concurs, writing “Cities that invest heavily in their fire department personnel generally provide services beyond fire suppression and emergency medical response.”
That’s not all for Boston, either. Mayor Marty Walsh recently signed an executive order open sourcing municipal data, including that of the Police and Fire departments. He hopes to solicit civilian engagement and encourage more public input with data available to the city’s wealth of techies, hackers and innovators.
