Massachusetts Capitol Police
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Three of the following defunct Commonwealth of
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
police agencies (Registry of Motor Vehicles Division of Law Enforcement, Massachusetts Capitol Police, Metropolitan District Commission Police) were merged in 1992 by Chapter 412 of the Massachusetts Acts of 1991 along with the former Department of Public Safety - Division of State Police to form the current Department of State Police. All officers of the three departments became Massachusetts State Troopers at the time of the merger without needing to attend the Massachusetts State Police Academy.


Boston Municipal Police

The Boston Municipal Police were founded in 1979 and had full city-wide police powers in the City of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
as
Special Police Officers Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties. Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...
. However, the officers of the department were primarily tasked with patrol of city buildings and public property as well as responding to security alarms. The department was dissolved on January 1, 2007 and replaced by the
Boston Municipal Protective Services The Boston Municipal Protective Services Department (BMPS) is a former police agency that patrols properties owned and controlled by the City of Boston, the successor agency to the Boston Municipal Police (BMP). The primary responsibility of the a ...
, an unarmed security force. Officers of the Municipal Protective Services still hold arrest powers as
Special Police Officers Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties. Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...
but the vast majority of law enforcement activity previously handled by the Boston Municipal Police is now the responsibility of the
Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...
.


Department of Public Safety - Division of State Police

This is the former statewide police department for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, which was founded in 1865; the M.D.C. Police, Registry of Motor Vehicles Police, and Capitol Police merged with this department to form the new Department of State Police in 1992. Prior to being known as the Massachusetts State Police, the department was known as the Special District Police of Massachusetts from 1879 to 1919.


Registry of Motor Vehicles Division of Law Enforcement

The Registry Police had the primary function of enforcing motor vehicle safety laws statewide, drivers license testing, crash investigation, enforcing laws & regulations on Registry property, and commercial vehicle inspection. Officers of the Registry Police were unique in the fact that as Registry employees they were able to suspend an operator's license on the roadside. The Registry Police Statewide HQ was located at 100 Nashua St., Boston.


Massachusetts Capitol Police

The Capitol Police had the primary function of law enforcement on the grounds and adjacent streets of the
State Capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...
and all state property. The Capitol police provided vehicle cruiser, motorcycle and traffic patrols, criminal investigations and executive protection services. The Capitol Police station was at 1 Ashburton Place in Government Center and became MSP Barracks H-1.


Metropolitan District Commission Police

The Metropolitan District Commission's Police Department; the Massachusetts Metro Police was created in 1893. The Metropolitan Police had the primary jurisdiction of law enforcement on all MDC controlled properties, roadways and all Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) facilities, Reservoirs and Watersheds. Additionally, the MDC Police had patrol jurisdiction on US Route 1 in Chelsea and Revere, Interstate 93 in Boston and Milton (Central Artery and the Southeast Expressway). MDC Police also had full jurisdiction with communities throughout Greater Boston. MDC Police were the third largest police agency in New England with over six hundred officers working primarily throughout Metropolitan Boston. They were commonly referred to as The Mets. In addition to patrol functions The Mets provided tactical assistance to area cities and towns in the form of regional SWAT teams, the Marine Unit and tactical operations units. Examples include Tactical Officers assigned to the city of Boston during court ordered school desegregation, assignment as the primary security agency for the Department of State with the responsibility of providing security and escorts for visiting dignitaries and annual assignments to assist cities and towns during the Boston Marathon. MDC Police also maintained a full service detective unit to investigate crimes on its primary jurisdiction as well as providing Detectives and undercover agents to area cities and towns, area Drug Task Forces, the (state) Governor's Auto Theft Strike Force, the DEA Boston Drug Task Force, the Secret Service and the FBI. The last chief of the MDC Police was former Boston Police Commissioner
William J. Bratton William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American law enforcement officer and businessman who served two terms as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016). He previously served as the Commissioner of th ...
, who later was
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
Commissioner and
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
chief. The following current Massachusetts State Police Barracks were MDC Police districts: MSP Barracks A4 − Medford (Middlesex Fells District); MSP Barracks A5 − Revere (Revere Beach); MSP Barracks H4 − Boston, next to Museum of Science (Lower Basin District); MSP Barracks H5 − Brighton on Soldiers Field Rd (Upper Basin District); MSP Barracks H6 − South Boston (Old Colony District); MSP H7 − Milton (Blue Hills District); MSP Barracks C7 − Belchertown (Quabbin District). Additionally, the following State Police Units are based out of former MDC Police facilities: MSP Marine Unit (New Charles River Dam, Boston); MSP Canine Unit (Pond St., Stoneham). The following former MDC police stations were closed in the first few years after the consolidation: Wachusett District (Wachusett and Sudbury Reservoirs and Watersheds); Nantasket Beach District (Nantasket Beach, Hull); Nahant Beach Substation (Nahant Beach); Mounted Unit Stables (Stoneham and Milton). MDC had a long record of corruption. In 1987, Captain Nelson Barner and Lt. Robert Clemente were convicted of cheating on a police exam. Officers from other cities, including the police chief of the city of Revere, were also convicted. Former Metropolitan Police Capt. Gerald Clemente turned Commonwealth's witness to stave off having a prison term he was already serving lengthened, but was sentenced to another 15 years in prison


Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Police

The
Massachusetts Convention Center Authority The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) owns and oversees the operation of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC), the Hynes Convention Center, John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center, The Lawn on D, the MassMutua ...
Police Department was formed during the creation of the authority in 1982. The department patrolled the Convention Center Authority owned property including the John B. Hynes Convention Center. The department was disbanded with the opening of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in 2004 and contracted security guards were hired to patrol properties. The contracted guards were replaced by the
Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Public Safety Department Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
in 2010.


Massachusetts Parking Authority Police

The Massachusetts Parking Authority Police patrolled the Boston Common Garage, Charles Street and parts of the Boston common, from 1975 until the Parking Authority was disbanded and the garage turned over to the
Massachusetts Convention Center Authority The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) owns and oversees the operation of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC), the Hynes Convention Center, John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center, The Lawn on D, the MassMutua ...
in 1982. The patrol force slowly diminished through retirement and officers leaving for other agencies.


Worcester Airport Police

The Worcester Airport Police patrolled the grounds
Worcester Regional Airport Worcester Regional Airport is three miles (5 km) west of Worcester, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The main property lies within municipalities of Worcester and Leicester, with supporting facilities in Paxton. Once ow ...
. The department was unique in that in provided both law enforcement and firefighting services to the airport. Officers of the Worcester Airport Police were both certified as Massachusetts Special State Police Officers as well as firefighters. The Worcester Airport Police were disbanded in the 2000's. Police services at the airport are now covered by the
Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state. As of 10/4/2022, it ...
and the
Massachusetts Port Authority Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an American port authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports—Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport—and public terminals in ...
Department of Public Safety. Firefighting services are covered by the
Massachusetts Port Authority Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an American port authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports—Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport—and public terminals in ...
Fire Rescue.


See also

*
List of law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts This is a list of law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2008 ''Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,'' the state had 357 law enforcement agencies employin ...


External links


M.D.C. Police / Massachusetts Metropolitan Police History and Photos


* ttp://archives.lib.state.ma.us/actsResolves/1991/1991acts0412.pdf Massachusetts Acts of 1991 Chapter 412 - "An Act to Consolidate Certain Police Forces in the Commonwealth"
Historic Massachusetts government license plates and history
{{Military and Police Auxiliary Organizations within the United States Law enforcement agencies of Massachusetts Defunct organizations based in Massachusetts Law enforcement defunct Lists of law enforcement agencies