On Wednesday, the Boston City Council held a hearing in which the prospect of reinstating mounted police units was considered. The Boston Police Department’s horseback division was disbanded back in 2009, but City Councilor Stephen Murphy is hoping to put some more horsepower on the streets of Boston.
The Boston City Council dissolved the mounted unit back in 2009 due to budgetary constraints. According to Boston’s budgets from 2003 and 2004, the BPD’s Special Operations program – which oversaw the mounted unit – required $13,025,600 in funds. It failed to specify how much of that went towards the mounted unit. In 2005 the program was consolidated into various other programs, and the subsequent budgets only list the salaries of mounted officers, which declined between 2008 and 2009.
Portland, Ore., with a population slightly smaller than Boston’s, directs $860,000 to its mounted unit. In 2011 Philadelphia – population just north of 1.5 million – was hoping to raise $2 million to bring its equine unit back into the fold.
BostInno reached out directly to the Boston Police Department to find out what it would take to bring the mounties back. According to Sergeant Mike McCarthy, director of the department’s media relations office, adequate financial backing is still the top priority.
“Currently discussions are being planned with the Mayor and Commissioner on the costs associated with bringing back the Mounted Unit,” Sgt. McCarthy told Bostinno in an email. “We anticipate that any decisions regarding its return will likely take significant time and discussions.”
Should the city be able to scrape together the proper resources to reinstate the unit, Boston residents stand the most to gain and public safety is sure to be generally improved. An article published by The Atlantic Cities explains that the most advantageous aspect of these units is the simple and obvious fact that it’s a massive animal.
“Sitting at a busy intersection, an officer astride a tall horse can see for several blocks at once,” the publication notes. “Horses can also ride down sidewalks and alleys, and go the wrong-way up one-way streets…And a horse’s most obvious appeal—that people think they’re cute—shouldn’t be counted out.”
Councilor Murphy agrees with this sentiment, writing in his filing ,which calls for a hearing on the matter, that “The Mounted Police Unit provided a sense of security and comfort to residents and visitors.”
The primary issue is cost effectiveness. The Atlantic Cities posits that a department’s challenge in reinstating mounted units is proving how relevant they are to 21st century policing.
In Massachusetts, where massive crowds tend to assemble after local sports teams win or lose a crucial game, officers on horseback are able to better exhibit crowd control there because of their hoofed partner.
“The Mounted Unit assists with crowd control and other special events,” added Sgt. McCarthy. “It was always a valuable additional resource for large scale events and truly an asset to promote Community Policing.”
But, as Sgt. McCarthy reminded us in closing, it all depends on funding.
Image via Shutterstock
