Gov. Deval Patrick’s program to flood urban gang zones with new cops is instead helping cash-strapped communities avert police layoffs, as cities grapple with red ink and violent crime. “Manpower is essential to us right now, so saving these jobs will make a huge difference in what we’re able to do,” said Brockton Police Chief William Conlon, who is battling to control street violence that has led to four murders since Jan. 1. With communities statewide facing multimillion-dollar deficits, Conlon and other police chiefs have told Patrick they could not accept his grant money for new cops because they do not have enough funding to keep paying their salaries when the grant runs out. The problem forced top Patrick aides to quickly alter the terms of the $4 million grant program so the money could be used not just to hire new officers, but also to save the jobs of those on the chopping block. Conlon said the changes to the grant program will allow him to retain four officers he would have lost to the city’s $10 million budget deficit. City officials in Lynn are also using the money to save four officers, and Fitchburg will be able to prevent at least two layoffs, administration officials said. While saving the jobs has generated praise from city cops, Patrick still faces a broader struggle to bolster police ranks in the face of outbursts of gang violence in cities across the state. Upon taking office, the governor last year pledged to hire 1,000 new officers in urban communities, but he has only been able to produce about 40 due to consecutive $1 billion budget deficits. “That’s the reality of the economic times we’re facing,” said Kurt Schwartz, Patrick’s undersecretary of law enforcement. “All we can really do is adapt and figure out the best possible use for the limited resources we have.” The money crunch has caused public safety officials to deploy special teams of state police to fight inner-city violence across the state. In recent months, Schwartz said, state police presence has increased in cities stretching from Boston to Springfield to Brockton, Fall River and New Bedford. Conlon said his force in Brockton is augmented daily by 15 to 20 state police officers who help snuff out gang violence across the city. He said the extra officers make it possible to prevent bullets from flying, rather than simply racing to a scene once they’ve already found their target. “We’re to the point now where you can’t go a couple of blocks without seeing a state police car with its light on,” Conlon said. “Before this, our officers were always on the go, constantly moving from one call to the next. There was no time to look for problems because you were always reacting to them.” Patrick is seeking $8 million to pay for new officers in fiscal year 2009, which would mean about 100 additional officers. However, the money still must be approved by lawmakers and still depends heavily on whether local communities can afford to support the salaries when the grants expire.
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