The Hampden County Sheriff's Department announced they'll be eliminating 50 positions as the state reviews how they fund county sheriffs. The cuts primarily focus on patrols and other regional support that the Sheriff's Office provides to local police departments, along with reductions in service for their Marine Patrol and Drone Units.
It comes after state lawmakers withheld around $26 million in supplemental funding from the department late last year over concerns of chronic overspending. That money won't be released until the Office of the Inspector General completes an in-depth investigation into how sheriff's offices around the state spend taxpayer money.
Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi said the sheriff's office needs that money to support the smaller, more rural communities in Western Massachusetts.
"It is our turn. Boston's taken care of. Worcester is the comeback city of Massachusetts. It's now Hampden County's turn, Springfield's turn, to receive the resources and the commitment from this commonwealth to support Western Massachusetts," he said.
Cocchi said his office has been complying with the state's investigation, and has turned over all budget records.
"We're excited to see what that report yields. And we're really energetic about seeing how we can get to a solution to moving forward. Understanding that every dollar we spend is taxpayers money," he said.
In a press conference Wednesday Cocchi was joined by Springfield Police Chief Larry Akers as well as several people who will lose their jobs due to these cuts.
Ashley Belden, Layla Lockhart and Alexis Shaw were hired as full-time analysts as part of the five-person team at the Real-Time Information Center which just opened in Chicopee last month. This facility has the ability to use an extensive camera network paired with AI-powered software to enhance public and officer safety. All three will be out of a job unless the city of Chicopee can foot the bill.
"It's tough. And we have a lot of people that support us, and they're trying to find a way to make ends meet so that we don't have to leave, because we do a lot of work every day. We're there for 16 hours a day fighting crime, investigating, doing real time assistance," Belden said.
Lockhart said she was excited to be part of an innovative team that was creating a model that can be used in other cities and towns.
"Tt's definitely devastating. I mean this new tech boom is big and real time centers are popping up everywhere. So the investment early on was big for Western Mass in terms of competing with a lot of other agencies who are doing similar things," she said.
In Springfield the sheriff's department has officers stationed at Union Station, the city's transportation hub as well as year-long patrolling at Forest Park, those positions will be eliminated unless the city is able to fund them.
Programs in Palmer, West Springfield and Holyoke wil also be affected.
Cocchi said while they will not be cutting salaries of current remaining emloyees, there will be a hiring freeze.
"That means that as people attrition out through retirement or discharge, or have resigned to go on to something else, we're not going to be able to replace that position," he said. "What does that mean for the men and women that are here? That means we are going to do more with less. That is not a good recipe when you're talking about dealing with the incarcerated population, a very stressful environment."
