# Boston Police and Boston Municipal Police to Merge



## speccop

THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
















 *Merger of police in Boston weighed*

*Move would bolster ranks at lower cost*

By Adrienne P. Samuels and Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff | March 21, 2006

City and police officials are formalizing plans to dissolve the Boston Municipal Police and to fold its officers into the Boston Police Department, a move that would add about 64 officers to the short-handed Boston Police Department, two high-ranking public safety officials with direct knowledge of the plans said yesterday.

About 49 Municipal Police officers and an additional 15 supervising officers who are now managed by Boston's Basic City Services Division would move to the Police Department, the officials told the Globe.

The move would disband the 27-year-old Municipal Police force, whose jurisdiction is largely confined to city buildings and parks.

It would also beef up the Boston Police Department as Mayor Thomas M. Menino is under intense pressure to hire more officers to combat an increase in crime in many of the city's neighborhoods.

Amid calls from community leaders and some elected officials to hire hundreds more officers, Menino has said repeatedly that the city cannot afford to pay new police salaries.

By transferring Municipal Police officers from one city payroll to another, the move would give the Boston Police Department more officers, without dramatically increasing the city's police costs.

''By merging them, you'll be able to get economy of scale," said Councilor Michael P. Ross, who is a City Council liaison to a mayoral task force that is studying a plan to combine the forces.

''That's the good news," Ross said. ''The detail is how you get it done. The important thing is that you have a single police department in the city of Boston."

Ross said that he could not confirm that a plan has been set, but that the mayor, along with the Police Department, City Council, and city budget department were all urging that the process ''hopefully move forward with a reasonable merger."

Menino's spokesman, Seth Gitell, said: ''We've had ongoing discussions about ways in which the Municipal Police can be combined with the Boston Police Department. At this time, that's all I'm prepared to say."

The two public safety sources said they had been briefed about the merger and told to expect that it would take place some time after July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

Samuel L. Tyler -- president of the business-funded watchdog group, the , Boston Municipal Research Bureau -- said that a merger could end up costing the city more, because it would pay the same officers more money without getting added manpower.

''Politically, it helps the administration say that they're doing something about the need for more police officers," Tyler said. ''But I don't know that I'm for it. I don't know enough about the details to say whether this is going to be a plus-plus."

Some city officials have argued that the Municipal Police is a largely redundant force. Although Municipal Police officers have specific responsibility for patroling parks and city buildings including schools, Boston police also patrol those areas, they say.

The public safety officials said it remained unclear how Municipal Police officers would be deployed once they are integrated with the Boston police, though they said it is possible that some will be sent to districts where officers are desperately needed.

Some Municipal Police officers have been working with Boston police to help ease manpower shortages.

In addition, about a half-dozen Municipal Police officers have been riding with the Boston Police Department's bicycle squad since the unit's debut last summer, according to Joe Coppinger, vice president of the Boston Municipal Police Patrolman's Association.

Folding Municipal Police into the Boston Police Department, an issue debated for years, has been resisted by some Boston police rank and file. Some Boston officers say resentments have festered over a merger, because they fear that Municipal Police officers could become Boston Police Department officers without taking the rigorous civil service exam and waiting for an opening. The powerful police patrolmen's union has also opposed any merger of the forces.

But officials at the Boston Municipal Police Patrolman's Association said that their union would welcome the change, in part because it would mean higher pay for members.

''It would be a plus for the police officers of our department because of the obviously increased benefits jobwise and monetarily," said president Mark McKeown, who added that he has not been contacted by any city official concerning a merger. ''I think it'd be an increased benefit for the Boston Police Department because it would be more officers. "

Coppinger, the Municipal Police union official, said the highest-paid municipal officer is paid less than the lowest-paid Boston Police officer. Boston police officers also receive financial incentives for higher education, as well as access to more detail shifts, he said.

Coppinger said that about 15 percent of the current Municipal Police force attended the Boston Police Academy. He said that other municipal officers attended other regional academies certified by the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council, which certifies the Boston Police Academy.

The Boston Police Department spokesman, Officer John Boyle, said the Boston Police Academy training lasts about six months and is staffed by highly trained Boston Police officers. He said the officers spend time receiving classroom instruction and practicing police tactics in the field.

It was unclear yesterday whether Municipal Police officers would receive additional training before being accepted at the Boston Police Department.

An official with direct knowledge of the merger plan said Boston police will screen Municipal officers to determine whom to take. ''How many we take will depend on how many pass a screening process," the official said.

Staff reporter Donovan Slack contributed to this report.

















© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company


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## NorwichAlum

I'm curious if there are civil service issues here? I assume that the Municipal Police are not Civil Service. How can they move to a Civil Service job without a test?


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## USMCTrooper

"They" can do anything with the stroke of a pen..........the Capital Police, the MDC,the RMV police never took an MSP exam. They were abolished and merged at the stroke of a pen....The financial control board of Springfield....stroke of a pen.


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## Irish Wampanoag

Muni's are civil service!


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## smd6169

I am curious what will this mean for BPD future hiring?


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## Patrick258

What do you mean the BPD hiring?? It is only 60 Police Officers BPD is still down 1800 to 2000 officers.


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## mpd61

What about the infamous "Site Officers" will they be absorbed or given the heel of the boot?

:ermm:


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## Patrick258

I think they are staying where they are.....


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## rg1283

64 Officers for the a city the size of Boston would help. But isn't that close to an academy class size? Why mess with things the way they are? Boston Municipal Police do policing in areas that the Boston Police don't have time or care to do usually. If one wants to merge them administratively. Do what NYPD Did with being under the NYPD Command, etc. However, allowing each as a division, example being Housing, Transit, Etc. That way they can continue the Boston municipal police mission and supplementing Boston Police as needed. That way the Mission of the Boston Municipal Police isn't eventually forgotten and comes back as a problem. Boston has a lot of public land and facilities that need to be Policed. An example being the recent Heroin addicts hanging out in the common. I say merge the Municipal under Boston to remove pay grade and 2 different dept. issues, however maintain it as a Division of the Boston Police, and maybe assign one or 2 cars out of each district station to patrol the municipal police areas. Also move them to Boston Police Frequencies, etc. 

Its the Politics talking so who knows what will happen. It comes down to $$$ anyhow.


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## SouthSideCobras

Please excuse my ignorance and for venturing slightly off topic, but were do the Boston School Police fall within the Boston PD command? Could these cops be merged in Boston PD as well? I have no idea about the level of training received by the school cops or numbers currently employed. I assume they must have minimum R/I academy or maybe the Boston equivalent.

As an outside person looking in the merge seems good on paper only. I feel areas currently assigned to the Municipal guys would quickly become neglected as the Mayor would need to use them in politically influenced areas. I was a youngster when the MSP merged so I do not have much experience to back up my statements. In a PD merger do command staff ranks remain at current levels or are they reevaluated to fit the needs of the bigger department?

Great pay and benefit hike for the Municipal cops :BNANA:


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## Guest

What's with the yelling?


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## rg1283

Speaking of Mergers. The great mismerger that happened with the State if one goes back and looks at the archives, bills introduced in the past to merge the MDC, RMV, Capital failed, even a bill to make the METs part of the Environmental Police (a Bill introduced shortly before the merger, which of course failed). Finally they were merged in 1992.

I bet this isn't the first attempt to merge the Boston Municipal Police with the BPD. It does come down to money. Does anybody know of any past attempts to do this?

Now they would have to pay these Officers alot more $ and with that would go the coverage of the municipal police areas.


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## Bri9801

so if the 64 officers from BMP merge but then BPD then has to take on more petrol areas that were previously covered by the Muni's, isn't this a net increase of Officers on paper only?

You would in essence have more Officer's patrolling more areas.


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## smd6169

Where do you get the numbers 1800 - 2000 officers down? They are understaffed by a few hundred down but my concern is will this merger be an excuse not to hire more off this current list?



Patrick258 said:


> What do you mean the BPD hiring?? It is only 60 Police Officers BPD is still down 1800 to 2000 officers.


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## Mitpo62

The merger will NEVER happen. You read it here first...... =;


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## dcs2244

Mitpo62 said:


> The merger will NEVER happen. You read it here first...... =;


So, too the MSP/MDC/RMV/Capitol merger of 1992. Never is a long time.

That having been said, it's time to shut-down the little fiefdoms: Boston must take control of their city...everybody under the same structure...just have a "School Division", "Housing Division", etc.

What's sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander...it makes sense, and the "T" cops should be included...


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## Capt. Kirk

This merger topic has been addressed before in the papers and nothing happened. If I recall correctly it was brought up last year by the city council and did not happen. The result was they(the city) would "look" into it. I can say for a fact that this merger has been in the rumor mill for years and years.
here is something I found that talks about a potential merger.
*****************************************************************************************************************

This year, nearly all of Boston's 140 municipal police officers received at least $20,000 more in their salary than last year - much of this due to long overtime hours. The total bill for the financially-strapped city: $2.6 million. This occurred despite cost-cutting measures, including worker layoffs and cuts to popular programs. Officials say it may be time to reorganize the force, perhaps merging it into the Boston Police Department or the Boston Housing Authority force. 
-_Scott S. Greenberger, "Despite Fiscal Crisis, Municipal Police Thrive on OT," Boston Globe, July 23, 2003_ 
****************************************************************************************************************


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## HousingCop

And what crystal ball might you be looking into?? Obviously something is in the works or it wouldn't be in the papers with undisclosed high ranking officials commenting on it.


Mitpo62 said:


> The merger will NEVER happen. You read it here first...... =;


I commend my brothers & sisters on the other side of the house for all their dedicated efforts over the years. There is absolutely no reason not to merge these 2 departments together. The BPPA may oppose it but since when have they had any decision in any hiring efforts done by the BPD and City Of Boston? Should have been done a long time ago in my eyes.

I guess that Cadet program & clause that up to 1/3 of any academy may be filled by those Cadets doesn't bother them too much. Just become a Cadet, do the mail runs, wash the cruisers, get coffee & direct traffic for 2 years earns you an automatic slot if you get above a 70 on the C.S. test which isn't too hard to do. Or just speak an obscure foreign language & get hired without benefit of *any* test.

Whereas the Municipal Police now have a test which is harder than any C.S. PO test, and have to pass the same rigorous background investigation to get hired. Then they must complete a full time basic MPTC academy only to be held to the ridiculous Rule 400a status. Oh yeah, I guess directing traffic and going on the coffee runs trumps that every time........

You could say that there is a bit of redundancy with both jobs. Same as with the MSP and any town in the Commonwealth. There's no need for the BPD to be calling for assistance & 2 blocks away sits a Municipal Police officer who on paper shouldn't respond to a call for help or assist in any way possible. Not that they don't go to help, it's just been put on paper in the past that the Muni's and Housing shouldn't respond to crimes off jurisdiction........ bunch of malarky if you ask me.

Many of my best friends still work there, I only wish them the best. HC


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## MallPolice

There's hope for us mall guys after all!!!!!!!!!!


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## HousingCop

MallPolice said:


> There's hope for us mall guys after all!!!!!!!!!!


I am all for the *Mall Police* & *Allied Barton* & *Securitas* to merge. It could be called *Mallied Baritas.*
You will be named Chief of this new merged entity because of your food court street experience.


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## s1w

what about BHA, are they included in this merge proposal


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## Macop

I thikn the "T" remark was sarcastic!!

_Housingcop wrote_
Whereas the Municipal Police now have a test which is harder than any C.S. PO test
What test are you refering to, arent the BMP Civil Service.


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## Macop

> Originally Posted by *Patrick258*
> _What do you mean the BPD hiring?? It is only 60 Police Officers BPD is still down 1800 to 2000 officers._


_Hey knuclehead they only have 2000 or so cops_


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## CEC

The munies are actually Civil Service... couple of guys transfer to my dept. and also to one neighbor's dept.


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## k12kop

As far as dreams come true I'm not the only one who would love to be taken into BPD. But until I sew that patch on my uniform, I've still got work to do and waiting for monkeys to fly from my butt isn't going to get the reports written for me!


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## Patrick258

Macop I may be mistaken but I thought the staffing levels of the Boston Police was to be at 3,000. Couple of years ago it was approved by the city council?


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## Irish Wampanoag

3000 you must be living in the 70s before Prop 2 1/2


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## quality617

Patrick258 said:


> Macop I may be mistaken but I thought the staffing levels of the Boston Police was to be at 3,000. Couple of years ago it was approved by the city council?


A 1979 ordinance states that after 1979 at no time will the number of officers fall below 2500. Now everything is governed by collective barganing. They are not and have not been anywhere near that number for years. The first mass exodus from the department came when they got the Quinn bill, where guys did their high three years then screwed. Then they civilianized a ton of jobs, touting that "'we can return these officers to the street to fight crime", never mentioning that the officers in these jobs already were for the most part past the 25 year mark so instead of going back out on the street, they just put in their papers. No money no money no money was always the battlecry of the city when they try to justifiy the low manning numbers.

I would be shocked as shit if the MP merged with BP. MP are civil service and it looks like they would simply 'lateral' over once their department is disbanded. That opens the door for the city to start looking to fill shortages with lateral transfers in the future, which the patrolmans association has always maintained will happen "over our dead bodies".


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## female p.o.

*The Municipal Police became full time Civil Service Police Officers on 9/9/98. Thanks to a law suit to get them removed from the Boston Housing Authority by the Boston Police. *


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## Macop

1998, doesnt sound right since they did not appear on the CS list till 2003.


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## female p.o.

Macop said:


> 1998, doesnt sound right since they did not appear on the CS list till 2003.


_*That is how long the lawsuit took to run it's course.......9/9/98 is the date the lawsuit was filed. If you really want to know I would suggest going to 1 Ashburton Place.*_


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## Macop

I really don't care enough to go into Boston and ask about something that doesnt effect me. Its just that your post made it sound like they have status since 1998. I understand it was started 1998 and took quite some time before they won, hence not getting actual status till 2003. Anyway who really gives a shit.


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## 94c

This merger thread sounds like having your drunk uncle over for the holidays.


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## Macop

lol, yeah it does, gotta love it.


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## j809

female p.o. said:


> _*That is how long the lawsuit took to run it's course.......9/9/98 is the date the lawsuit was filed. If you really want to know I would suggest going to 1 Ashburton Place.*_


Hy there, still dating T-Cop4Life


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## Crvtte65

j809 said:


> Hy there, still dating T-Cop4Life


Ooooo dang man haha.

I would also say having the different "authorities" under one umbrella would be the best idea.


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## female p.o.

j809 said:


> Hy there, still dating T-Cop4Life


_*No, I'm not dating him anymore.....I'm married to him:wink:*_


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## female p.o.

Macop said:


> I really don't care enough to go into Boston and ask about something that doesnt effect me. Its just that your post made it sound like they have status since 1998. I understand it was started 1998 and took quite some time before they won, hence not getting actual status till 2003. Anyway who really gives a shit.


_*Apparently you do , since you keep replying to something that has no bearing on you.*_


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## Patrick258

The wheels on this bus (merger or purge) are still going around and around and around...
Give me the short bus ......


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## drknyt

What happens now interms of any new hires for the muni, are they going to be told to wait or are they going to get an automatic walk.


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## BrickCop

Please correct me if I am wrong but at the end of the day the State merge fully absorbed all Capital, Registry and Metro police personnel. The NYC PD merge accepted all the Transit, Housing police personnel (although that was easier as they all attended the exact same academy and were assigned to one of the three departments shortly before graduation).

If BPD cherry picks who they want it's nothing more that a mass lateral transfer. If they require residency, start them out as entry level/pay despite their years of city time then it is nothing more than a new hire. I don't know why the BPD higher ups are using the merge word, it's not accurate.

???


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## USMCTrooper

> I am all for the *Mall Police* & *Allied Barton* & *Securitas* to merge. It could be called *Mallied Baritas.*
> You will be named Chief of this new merged entity because of your food court street experience


*Its happening already..............*

 
WASHINGTON, DC-Pressed for additional troops to police the Iraqi general elections scheduled for January, the Pentagon announced Monday that it will dispatch 30,000 U.S. shopping-mall security guards to the troubled Sunni Triangle region.

"A force of security guards trained to protect retail stores across America will be deployed to the Persian Gulf region," said Maj. Peter Archibald, a spokesman for Central Command. "Once in Iraq, security teams will fortify ground forces and assist them in keeping the peace and quelling any horseplay."

According to Archibald, the Pentagon wanted to bolster forces in Iraq without further extending the tours of soldiers currently in the theater. The solution should offer the additional advantage, Archibald said, of potentially dispelling the public's rising concerns over a possible military draft.

"We found that mall security guards are as well-trained and ready to face danger as the coalition-trained military police," Archibald said. "They may not have the power of arrest, but real authority is only a walkie-talkie call away."

Hired by the Defense Department through a number of licensed, reputable firms, the security guards will work independent of the roughly 135,000 troops currently stationed in Iraq. The guards will receive an hourly wage from the U.S. government, and they will be eligible for health and dental benefits after six months.

A test deployment of 1,000 mall security guards to Najaf in September convinced skeptical coalition officials that private-sector security forces provide a palpable sense of order.

"Iraqi patrons of mall-guard-patrolled marketplaces-the Iraqi equivalent of our nation's food courts-reported that the guards' uniformed presence was unobtrusive or even reassuring," Archibald said. "While many Iraqis are intimidated by soldiers from the U.S., they were largely able to disregard the mall security forces."

Archibald said that casualty rates for the mall security guards were only slightly higher than those among Iraqi police forces.

Bobby Adcock, 27, of Bakersfield, CA, was rejected for military service in August 2002, due to poor eyesight and excessive weight. He was hired by A-Star Security shortly thereafter, and was surprised to find himself patrolling an Iraqi bazaar in a Ford Taurus two years later.

"The work is similar in a lot of ways," Adcock said, pausing mid-sentence to order a nearby Iraqi to pick up a candy wrapper and a blood-spattered keffiyeh. "I thought maybe I'd be dodging artillery fire and flushing insurgents out of hiding places, but mostly I stand around and keep my eyes peeled for trouble. Just the other day, we caught some vandals spray-painting 'Go home USA' on the side of a building. Then, there's the suspicious package sightings. Fortunately, a good number of those turn out to be false alarms."

"All in all, it's an okay assignment," Adcock said. "The food is strange, except for those lamb kebabs. Those aren't bad. The break room is just a shed out in back of a used-electronics store, but I don't want to complain. I'm getting a lot of overtime."

Dale London, 47, is employed by Five-Eagle Security, based in Ames, IA. A former Loews Cineplex security guard who spent three years as an airport metal-detector operator, London now patrols the streets of Najaf.

"I had to retrain my eye to spot the particular dangers over here in sand-land," London said. "Yesterday, this kid with a bulge down his shirtfront comes around the corner. When I ask him to undo his jacket, wouldn't you know, there's a grenade launcher. Well, I hustled his keister right behind the falafel stand and told him the next time I saw his face around here, I'd turn him over to the coalition. Then I called his mullah to come pick him up."

Added London: "I never figured out where he shoplifted the grenade launcher from, so I took it to our lost and found. If any Najaf shopkeepers out there are missing a grenade launcher, they should contact me, Dale London, at the Five-Eagle Security station. It's near the grocery where they sell that funny sesame candy."

While the security guards' power is limited by international law, they are authorized to alert coalition forces in the event of trouble. Last week, a Marine platoon was dispatched after Adcock noticed that a vehicle had been parked unattended in an abandoned lot for several hours.

"We inspected the car, but it contained no bomb or weapons," Marine Sgt. Michael Shahinian, 25, said. "Weird thing is, turns out the call came from this guy Bobby Adcock, who was two grades above me at Bakersfield High School. I guess he's a pop cop working here now. Holy shit. I wonder if he ever did pass that shop class we had together."

Rebecca Chatelain, a research associate at the Institute For Defense Analysis, expressed misgivings over the use of mall security guards in Iraq.

"The situation there is extremely volatile," Chatelain said. "The guards may provide a layer of security, but it's more psychological than actual. Any determined insurgent will soon discover how easy it is to overcome a lightly armed, out-of-shape mall cop. I'd hate to see a repeat of what happened in Somalia."

Chatelain was referring to a 1993 incident in which several dozen American prom chaperones were sent to Somalia along with U.N. peacekeeping troops. All were shot by factional guerrillas within hours of their arrival.

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## USMCTrooper

_Above: A Brenneman Security guard, previously employed by the Northway Mall in Phoenix, patrols a Najaf street._


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## NH Cop

*How did you get my photo USMCTROOPER?:baby01: *


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## MVS

female p.o. said:


> _*No, I'm not dating him anymore.....I'm married to him:wink:*_


Big bad Mikey!!!


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## female p.o.

drknyt said:


> What happens now interms of any new hires for the muni, are they going to be told to wait or are they going to get an automatic walk.


*Any new hires are going to be Site Officers.(Protective Service Division) They are not hiring Police Officers.*


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