ROYALSTON – Citing the new reform regulations and pay issues, Royalston Police Chief Curtis Deveneau told the Selectboard that the department is down to half the officers it had three years ago
Deveneau said he is down to only nine part-time officers, blaming his shrinking force in part on the Police Reform Act passed by the state Legislature in December 2020.
When the chief met with the Selectboard in October 2021 to discuss possible ramifications of the act, Royalston had 18 officers. At that time, he predicted that by June 2024—the deadline for all of his officers to complete the training requirements spelled out in the act—he would have lost six. Instead, he has already lost nine. Those requirements include 40 hours of firearms training, 40 hours of Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) training, and 40 hours of defensive tactics training.
Noting his part-time officers also have full-time jobs outside the department, Deveneau told the board Tuesday, “It’s hard to go to somebody and say, ‘Hey, you need take four weeks off from your full-time job – whether they pay you or not – and go do this. Full-time employment doesn’t allow for that. So, we did lose several (officers) to that.”
Pay was also a factor in the loss of staff, Deveneau added.
“We did lose some staff to other departments who are paying more for their part-time work,” he said. “And they’re giving them more patrol time. When they’re able to go to another town and make more money, obviously that’s a bonus for them.
“So, there have been multiple factors. It’s not just police reform, but that’s had the biggest effect hitting us and cities and towns across Massachusetts. It has decimated departments.”
In a written report to the board, Deveneau noted that, through the first quarter of FY24 – covering the months of July, August, and September – he had planned to have his officers cover a total of 105 patrol shifts. Due to staffing shortfalls, however, only 74 shifts were covered. He had also scheduled 92 night shifts, of which only 68 were filled.
“I think the expectation is,” he said, “that police services are provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But we’ve never been funded for that, nor have we even come close to trying to fund that.”
Deveneau said that when a call comes in and no one is at the station, officers are paged. If no one is available, the call is forwarded to the state police. Deveneau said the department does its best to avoid calling state troopers, noting the Athol State Police barracks covers 16 communities from Erving to Westminster. The chief was quick to dispel a rumor which had made its way to Selectboard Chair Deb D’Amico that the barracks had had to add an extra patrol to each shift solely to respond to calls in Royalston.
“That’s a complete lie,” he said.
In his report to the board, Deveneau stated there may be several options for providing “a stable workforce for all operations of policing to include patrols, responding to emergency calls, (and) investigations 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.”
Those options include regionalizing with a neighboring police force, hiring full-time staff, or exploring and identifying other possible options. Board member Rick Martin said planning for the next fiscal year will begin soon and if regionalization is to be considered, exploration of that option should get underway.
“I just recently met with the Winchendon chief about some issues,” said Deveneau. “Not negative issues but issues with helping as we try to figure out what we’re going to do as a community.”
Deveneau added that he would schedule discussions with Athol Police Chief Craig Lundgren and Chief Kevin Dodge in Phillipston. D’Amico said she would contact the town managers or administrators in the communities neighboring Royalston to see what their concerns might be relative to regionalization.
Deveneau was asked to get back to the board by early December with a report on his discussions with the Athol, Phillipston, and Winchendon police chiefs. If regionalization doesn’t appear to be a feasible alternative, work will have to begin on a budget for Royalston Police, with an eye toward improving the current status of the department, particularly when it comes to pay and staffing.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.