Jim Jordan

2 months ago | commonwealthbeacon.org | Jim Jordan

WHEN MOST PEOPLE hear the word sabbatical what comes to mind is well-paid university professors on an extended break, reading and writing, perhaps, in a relaxed setting far from the everyday responsibilities of campus life. One image the term certainly doesn’t evoke is that of pistol-packing police officers taking time away from patrol duties.

Aug 10, 2024 | commonwealthbeacon.org | Jim Jordan |Jim Jordan

POLICE OFFICERS have greeted every technical innovation in policing with suspicion, believing in each case that management had an ulterior motive. When Boston officers were first assigned personal two-way radios in the 1970s, patrol sergeants would distribute them at roll call and collect them at the end of each shift. They did so to prevent the radios from ending up in places where they could do less good, like Boston Harbor.