Ward 5 Councilor Niedergang has voiced concerns about adding additional personnel to the current Police Department, suggesting instead that a redirection of funds would be optimal.

By Alex Reidy

At the latest meeting of the Somerville City Council, Ward 5 Councilor Niedergang responded to Acting Somerville Police Chief Charles Femino’s ten-page paper on SPD staffing with an alternative method on how to go about “reimagining policing” and budget allocations.

Femino has called for an increase in police staffing, whereas Niedergang suggests that resources would be better spent on other public safety works. “Public safety is broader than just police and fire: It’s housing, food, health, mental and emotional health, pedestrian and cyclist safety, and more,” he said.

Niedergang indicates that he values the police in his comments, but he cites “violence prevention” as a top priority for the residents of Somerville and feels that if Somerville invested more in “expanded care and prevention services” the city could spend less on police officers who are solving problems outside their prevention detail.

Niedergang also suggests that waiting to hire a new Director of Racial and Social Justice would do nothing to impact making sensible budgetary motions. He said the idea of reimagining policing starts with reimagining how Somerville looks at problems, who will tackle each individual case and do they really need police or some other state department.

According to Niedergang, solving all problems with police has in the past across the country sometimes led to violence and more problems. He feels that the reduction of police cruisers in the later shift would help with budget constraints and possibly this idea of reimagining policing.

The later shifts utilizing police cruisers incorporates the same seven-man rotation, but they deal with far fewer incidents. So, according to Niedergang, it’s not prudent for Somerville to increase the amount of police officers when they already have too many staffed during late shifts.

One suggestion Niedergang makes is to establish a mutual aid call protocol. Rather than having more police officers on shift for a rare “all hands on deck” situation, Somerville would be able to call in Cambridge and Medford police officers to assist, and vice versa. He believes that this makes sense, since so few critical cases are called in the late night, having five or so officers is plenty, and if needed more can be called in.

Niedergang closed out his remarks by saying, “We certainly need to re-imagine policing and develop more effective ways to deliver the emergency services and response that currently only the SPD provides. But we also need to evaluate whether funds are best spent on reacting to problems or preventing and resolving them.”

Reiterating his main message of not turning to the hiring of more officers to solve all the city’s problems, Niedergang instead advocates the allocation of resources to the correct departments to create a more efficient and safe Somerville.