Randolph Police Services Debate: Police District Expansion

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Police District Expansion

The businesses that used to populate the village police district and represented a destination for area residents have moved on or closed over the past 40 years since the town/village merger in 1984.
There have been very few new businesses to replace them, leaving significant commercial vacancies throughout the village district.
The residential population in both town and village has remained flat since 1980. Zero growth for decades.
The areas south and east of the village district have seen substantial growth and development of new business real estate since the merger. These properties do not pay police district taxes and are a major destination for traffic passing through the village.
The demand for law enforcement in the village is primarily traffic related, due to the flow of commuters traveling through the village, instead of to the village, to get to their destination.
This traffic is caused by residents who have no choice but to drive through the village to get to their destination.
The village traffic is further exacerbated by area students and parents attending elementary, middle and high school in the village, as well as area residents going to Gifford Hospital.
The village police district tax is an impediment to bringing significant new business to the village, which is confirmed by the significant new development outside the village district. This puts the district residents at a disadvantage, paying taxes for police coverage while business stagnates and vacancies proliferate. The result is ever increasing costs for village residents.
The animosity created by this town/village division will continue to hinder growth, compromise teamwork and foster uncertainty for the entire community. The selectboard spends countless hours dealing with village police district issues. This is time and effort that could be much better spent elsewhere. It is also likely to discourage otherwise willing volunteers from serving on the board.
A partial expansion of the district will only create the same situation over a larger footprint. The incentive and opportunity to avoid police taxes will still exist, and business will be likely to avoid new development in the partially expanded district. This will push new development to areas just outside the new boundaries.
A partial expansion will perpetuate and compound the existing division within the community. That leaves the problem up to future generations; what past generations did to us (“kick the can down the road”).
The logical choice is to expand the district to the entire town, level the playing field, and establish a town wide police force with the goal of growing into a regional law enforcement agency serving Randolph, Braintree, Brookfield, Bethel and perhaps Chelsea and Tunbridge. This would provide stability and a career path to new officers and help to reduce the risk officers decide to leave.
Residents in town, outside the district, are not likely to ever vote in favor of town wide expansion. Therefore, this will probably only be accomplished either by selectboard fiat, or by the village district taxpayers refusing to fund any budgets for police services until and unless the town wide expansion is approved. Essentially, this would be holding the town hostage with the possibility that the police department is dissolved and Randolph is left without coverage. If the town refuses to vote for approval, and the selectboard refuses to act, this may be the only choice for change.
Alternatively, to show good faith, the village could simply refuse to fund more than the cost of three (3) full-time officers, the same number of officers under the OCSD contract which worked so well. The village should not be held hostage by the town and forced to pay for more coverage than necessary.
Approval of a town wide police department should include plans to establish a new headquarters centrally located to serve the entire town and surrounding areas. One ideal location would be the old Especially Imports blue building on Route 66. The parking lot and utilities are already established, the building could be easily renovated to provide offices and the garage area necessary for prisoner security. It would be easily accessed and allow favorable response times, especially to East Randolph. This would help to ease concerns that town residents are paying for a village police force. Finally, it would provide a focus for the community to rally around and celebrate finally resolving this issue after so many years in limbo.
A new headquarters on Route 66 would be highly visible to area residents, something to reassure people and a reason to take pride in their community. It would also be far more affordable than a new building from scratch. This support from the town would improve department morale and provide incentives for long term commitment to the department, a serious concern given the lack of qualified personnel.
The area's population has been stagnant for 40 years. Is it a coincidence that it has also been 40 years since the merger? It is time for change.