By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Greenfield, MA) Greenfield Mayor Roxann Wedegartner and Acting Police Chief William Gordon addressed the city’s recent gun violence in a news conference Wednesday. There have been three shooting events in just over a month and many other gun-related crimes. Acting Chief Gordon has said that the three shootings are believed to be unrelated events, but there has been an uptick in gun-related crime. However, this is not unique to Greenfield and has been seen in surrounding communities as well.
What is unique to Greenfield are the coverage struggles due to recent budget cuts and rising fuel costs. Between gas prices significantly increasing and a $25,000 decrease to the related expense line of the budget, there are half as many cruisers on the street now. The police department is currently using two cruisers with two officers in each to cut down on fuel usage. This impacts response time and the ability to set up perimeters in instances like Monday’s shooting where the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle.
In respect to the salaries and wages budget cut of $400,000 no officers have been laid off yet and all shifts are covered, but overtime has been impacted. In order to minimize overtime wages, Acting Chief Gordon said detectives are being utilized for patrol. This takes them away from their detective roles of investigating and preventing crimes. Detectives also work on elderly and child abuse cases, as well as assisting the District Attorney’s office, something that is more difficult to do currently. Additionally, part time officer programs such as weekend bike patrols have been cancelled.
Both the Acting Chief and the Mayor are working on funding resources to support the department functioning at full capacity. A federal grant called “COPS” has been applied for from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Mayor is looking into ARPA funds.