Haverhill Police Receive $300K Staffing Boost from State

Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The Haverhill Police Department has been awarded a $323,612 Municipal Public Safety Staffing Grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

Haverhill was one of 10 municipalities eligible to apply for funding “to restore, retain or hire police personnel, or for overtime if needed to provide adequate shift coverage to maintain appropriate staffing levels,” according to Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. The municipal police grant program provides targeted assistance to larger communities in Massachusetts whose municipal budgets need extra support to improve public safety and increase police resources.

“This funding will give the Haverhill Police Department the resources to ensure that staffing levels that are needed to protect the people of the city, as well as the officers themselves, are met,” Dempsey said. “A well-maintained and staffed department is a key component in promoting the safety of our first responders and citizens of Haverhill.”

The municipal staffing grant comes from funds appropriated in Chapter 46 of the Acts of 2015, according to Dempsey. The funds will “provide direct assistance to local law enforcement to promote efficiencies and enhanced crime management techniques.”

Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini during a recent Open Mike Show.

Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini during a recent WHAV Open Mike Show.

“This funding grant enables us to do smart policing, to put more police on the street at one time and in an area where they are most needed. It is a key reason why crime has been down in Haverhill for two years in a row,” said Mayor James J. Fiorentini. “We are grateful to Rep. Dempsey and the rest of our legislative delegation for their support for this grant. The Community Police Grant will also allow us to continue making headway in the fight against opiate addition in our city. This funding will assist with continuing to keep our city safe and keep the momentum going to fight addiction.”

“Given the challenges faced by the public safety community in Haverhill this funding is critical to ensuring that the police and fire departments in Haverhill are adequately staffed and capable of addressing everything from the opioid crisis to the emergency response needs of families and individuals,” said Representative Linda Dean Campbell (D-Methuen).

Rep. Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen) and Sen. Kathleen A. O’Connnor Ives (D-Newburyport) also voiced support for the public safety grant.

“I stand with my colleagues in the Haverhill legislative delegation in celebrating the awarding of this important municipal staffing grant to the City of Haverhill,” Dizoglio said. “These funds will immensely help the Haverhill Police Department in its efforts to maintain staffing levels and continue to promote public safety in our communities.”

“This grant award will assist the Haverhill Police Department in responding to public safety needs by ensuring sufficient staffing,” O’Connor Ives said.

One thought on “Haverhill Police Receive $300K Staffing Boost from State

  1. “This funding will assist with continuing to keep our city safe and keep the momentum going to fight addiction.” –

    Sure it will. Supply and the insatiable demand is being met and there is no amount of cops that will fix this paradigm.

    Meanwhile, a The City of Haverhill continues to survive off of more than one-third of Dempsey’s theft by way of state aid for a city that long ago should have been placed into receivership. No mention of a matured retirement system that is only 49% funded and a $162 million dollar unfunded liability that continues to rise.

    Nothing to see here in a world, a country, a state, and a city awash in unproductive debt.