Survey Says: Brookline Police Department Morale At All-Time Low

BROOKLINE, MA — Morale at the Brookline Police Department is at an all-time low, according to a survey of the Brookline Police Department.

The Committee on Policing Reforms, which was tasked with reviewing the department's policies and procedures and proposing updates, presented the survey results Tuesday to the Select Board. Some 103 police department staff responded between Feb. 22 and March 6.

Eighty-eight respondents described the morale in the department as poor, 10 said it was okay, and just three said it was good or excellent.

“I’ve never seen morale this bad. I believe it’s the constant negative messaging
coming from our [Select Board] and the defunding movement,” one officer wrote in the anonymous survey.

"The overall hate toward law enforcement, being a cop has been tough," wrote a respondent who identified as having worked for the department for the past 20 years. "And hearing that some in the community want us out of the schools, out of BHA and out of helping those most in need, it feels like they want us isolated from the community rather than a part of it and that feels lousy. Hard to remain positive. "

Others cited low pay compared with other Massachusetts towns and lack of leadership.

The survey asked questions related to morale, work conditions, gender, race and equitable policing, perspective and recommendations on change and reform and the next police chief.

The committee took 121 pages to share its analysis of the responses.

Select Board Chair Bernard Greene, who is also chair of the committee, said the committee is set to present a number of recommendations to the Select Board. The committee said those recommendations are likely to include comparing base pay, benefits and educational incentives with neighboring communities; better educating residents about policing practices, especially around bias, including renovations to the Public Safety Building in the town’s capital investment plan, and factoring the survey data into the discussion of proposed reforms and improvements to the Brookline Police Department.

Other comments from Brookline Police Department survey responders on Morale:

"Officers keep leaving because the pay/benefits are better in surrounding departments. The culture is difficult to change but hopefully will as the current leadership retires in the next few years. Morale is what it is, the current political/social climate has a negative impact on LE, but serious issues are being brought up, and this survey alone is a sign that the movement has forced consideration, if not change." - An officer with 11-20 years on the force

"Supervisors and management need to do their job. They need to fulfill their responsibilities as supervisors and bring back integrity and leadership qualities. This can only be done through diversity, fairness, and a lack of favoritism." - respondent who has worked 10 years or less in the department.

"Culture of the Department- this should be an entire section. Our culture is toxic. You have an upper administration who have been mentally checked out. They do not care and make it known that they do not care. That flows down hill so far that with in a few months the brand new rookies are already salty and bitter. Doing police work is frowned upon because it opens us to complaints because we know there is ZERO support from the police administration and across the street at town hall. It has become a culture of "how much money can I make" because doing police works not worth it anymore. Sounds like a bad place to work, doesn't it? and it is a terrible place to work." - respondent who has worked 10 years or less in the department.

This is the first part of a series that will look into the responses of the police department survey.

See the survey and analysis here.