AMHERST A new town department that will provide an alternative to police, with unarmed employees responding to calls that don’t feature violence or serious crime, has its inaugural leader.Earl Miller, regional director of recovery for the.
AMHERST A new town department that will provide an alternative to police, with unarmed employees responding to calls that don’t feature violence of serious crime, has its inaugural leader.Earl Miller, regional director of recovery for the.
Northampton City Council backs call for new community care department of unarmed emergency responders, urges mayor to follow suit
Updated May 12, 2021;
Eyeing ways to rethink public safety, the Northampton City Council voted last week to endorse a series of recommendations that, if implemented by the mayor’s office, would change the face of law enforcement in the years to come.
At its most recent meeting last Thursday, the legislative body passed a resolution offering support for a slew of recommendations made by the Northampton Policing Review Commission in its final report released in March. The document, titled, “Reimagining Safety,” laid out more than a dozen proposals that aim to shift certain emergency response responsibilities away from law enforcement.