Grant means 7 new officers on the street
Mayor Daniel Rivera, announced a Massachusetts Municipal Public Safety Staffing Grant awarded to Lawrence in the amount of $1,005,037.67. Mayor Rivera and Police Chief James Fitzpatrick plan to use this money to hire seven new patrol officers. “This grant is a major win for Lawrence,” said Mayor Daniel Rivera. “With the 19% drop in violent crime and 22% drop in residential burglary, more cops have made Lawrence safer. This grant allows us to put more cops on the streets to continue the progress we have seen.”
The state funding can be used to restore, retain or hire police and fire personnel or for overtime if needed to provide adequate shift coverage to maintain appropriate staffing levels. All told, a combined $4 million in public safety staffing grants have been awarded to 10 police departments and 5 fire departments in 10 Massachusetts cities.
“This public safety staffing grant is great news for the city and its police department and will have a direct impact on fighting crime and keeping people in Lawrence safe,” Sen. Barbara L’Italien said. “It’s worth noting that Lawrence’s $1 million award is the largest of 15 public safety staffing grants announced by the Baker-Polito Administration. That speaks to the excellent grant proposal put together by Police Chief James Fitzpatrick and his team and the active participation of the city’s State House delegation along with Mayor Rivera in supporting the grant and working to make Lawrence better and safer.”
“These new hires that we will have as a result of the Public Safety Staffing grant are improving morale throughout our department,” said Police Chief James Fitzpatrick. “Our officers work hard to keep Lawrence safe, and having new blood on the department gives them an extra incentive and job satisfaction that in previous years, has been staggering.”
