A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 19-143, regarding a report on a pilot program with the Cambridge Housing Authority of assigning security officers with CHA premises in and near Central Square and The Port

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 125 SIXTH STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02142 TELEPHONE [phone removed] WEB www.cambridgepolice.org FACEBOOK facebook.com/CambridgePolice TWITTER twitter.com/CambridgePolice Louis A. DePasquale City Manager Dr. Branville G. Bard, Jr. Police Commissioner To: City Manager, Louis A. DePasquale From: Police Commissioner, Branville G. Bard, Jr. Date: February 11, 2020 Ref.: Awaiting Report #19-143, dated October 21, 2019 Re: Pilot Program w/CHA – Security Officers to work collaboratively with and exclusively within CHA premises in and near Central Square and The Port. The purpose of this response is to address Awaiting Report #19-143, dated October 21, 2019, whereby the City Manager was requested to report on the feasibility of piloting a program of assigning additional security officers to work collaboratively with and exclusively within the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) premises in and near Central Square and The Port. In effort to ensure the highest quality police service to the residents of public housing in Cambridge, the Cambridge Police Department hosts a regular meeting with Cambridge Housing Authority area managers and property managers. This is a long-standing meeting that is held approximately once a month at the Cambridge Police Department (CPD). The CPD/CHA Property Managers Meeting is coordinated by the head of security at CHA, David Degou and Lieutenant Fred Cabral from the CPD Family & Social Justice Section (FSJS). The meeting is regularly attended by multiple property managers from the CHA, and supervisors and members of the FSJS, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), and the Criminal Investigations Section (CIS). The purpose of this meeting is to keep communications open between property managers and members of the CPD. Some of the issues involve criminal behavior at some properties, but the meeting also serves as a platform to connect residents to appropriate services. Last summer, the Command Staff met with Dave Degou and Newtowne Court and Washington Elms tenants to discuss safety and security issues as part of the department’s focus on building stronger community relationships. In September, the Command Staff attended a follow-up meeting to continue to address these concerns and to discuss security issues at the Manning Apartments. At the September meeting, the police department recommended that CHA hire a private security company to perform unarmed security services at CHA properties only. These functions would include patrolling, access security, and monitoring electronic alarm and surveillance equipment, to deter and discourage attempts at crime and to detect and stop crimes from occurring.

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 125 SIXTH STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02142 Most recently, at the December meeting, Dave Degou informed CPD that CHA had retained the services of MDS Security of Waltham to monitor the Manning Apartments located at 237 Franklin Street. One unarmed security guard will be staffed nightly for an overnight shift, providing coverage between 9:00PM until 5:00AM. Dave Degou indicated that CHA is planning to implement private security at other properties too, once CHA is able to secure additional funding. CPD is committed to supporting this cooperative private-public effort by providing an added presence to include, but not limited to the following:  Directing officers assigned to The Port neighborhood to maintain a greater presence in the Washington Elms/Newtowne Court apartment complex, and the streets surrounding those communities. (These walking officers will remain in these assignments through the winter months).  Increasing patrols in sector and route cars.  Directing bike patrol to focus their patrol activities during the day shifts and first half evening shifts. (Excluding winter months).  Directing detectives working in the Criminal Investigations and Special Investigations to focus plain clothes patrols in unmarked police vehicles during first half evening shifts and early morning hours to support this effort.  The Crime Analysis Unit will monitor the number of assignments and conduct regular analysis for patterns of crime, predictive policing as well as seasonal trends, and based on the information reviewed at our bi-weekly crime trends meeting, the department will deploy additional assignments as needed. I can assure you that the police department is working on a variety of fronts to identify and resolve issues that affect specific housing developments, neighborhoods, business districts, and the City as a whole. I hope you find this response satisfactory, and if there are any additional questions, information needed or concerns regarding this matter, please let me know. Please let me know if you have any questions or additional concerns. Sincerely, Dr. Branville, G. Bard, Jr. Police Commissioner