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Date: 1/11/2021
SOUTH HADLEY– The South Hadley Police Department will soon have a new way to patrol the streets and connect with the community.
South Hadley police officer Spencer Hart said the department used to have a bicycle patrol unit, but hasn’t in years. However, with the help of a grant in the amount of $8,200 from the Byrne Justice Grant Program. The grant, he explained, will help the department purchase the equipment needed for the program, the training for officers and to implement some restorative justice practices.
Hart said there will be two dedicated members of the unit, which will include himself and officer Kelsey Davey. “The goal is to take the bikes out, get back in the community, reach out to businesses, get to know the area a little,” he said.
He said while there was no specific area of town they would be patrolling, the bikes would allow them to access areas of town that were traditionally more difficult on foot or in a cruiser. “We’ll have the capability of putting the bike rack on the cruiser. We can go off in the woods if we want to. We’ll be able to just open up the garage door and patrol the area where the station is,” he said.
The bike, Hart explained, would be especially beneficial during events such as the Fourth of July and the town’s Fall Fest. “It’s definitely easier to get through a big crowd on bike rather than foot, it’s a faster way of getting through large crowds,” he said.
While bikes are traditionally a warm weather mode of transportation, he said, “The goal is to use it year round. Weather permitting, we will be trying to use it as much as we possibly can.”
Depending on funding, he said that ideally the department would like to add a third member to the unit, but “that’s not guaranteed.” The unit, he said, was initially planned to begin last year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were unable to purchase bikes.
While the department is “still in the process of getting the kinks worked out,” Hart said they were hoping to have the equipment and begin the bicycle patrol by April.
Another part of the grant is implementing restorative justice practices. The practices are defined by a press release from the Northwestern District Attorney’s office, as a “process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in an offense that has been committed and collectively to identify and address harms, needs and obligations in order to heal and restore the community.” The process, “is done before criminal charges are filed and instead of proceeding with a court case.”
South Hadley Police Chief Jennifer Gundersen said Massachusetts has used restorative justice practices for juvenile offenders for years, however South Hadley is “one of the first communities in Massachusetts to use it for adult offenders.”
Gundersen said she believes “that traditional criminal justice does not really offer victims a voice to be heard and a true opportunity [to] repair the harm they suffered.” She said while some may think the practice may be “soft on crime,” this was not the case. “From an offender perspective, restorative justice is a more detailed, intense and accountable process than referrals to court,” she said.
She emphasized that the practice would not be used for every crime, and that the department had strict guidelines in place with regards to the practice.
“Not every offense is appropriate for restorative justice, meaning, we would not refer a victim of domestic violence to restorative justice, as sitting across from an abuser is contrary to our ‘Do No Harm’ position,” she said. “The South Hadley Police have very strict protocols on what cases would benefit and be best suited for restorative justice.”