Image via Canva
— Quincy Massachusetts News by Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary.
Fluffing it, puffing it — whatever
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive image
In the wake of Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch’s puffery about the State of the City of Quincy Monday night past, a safety from crime ranking of the 154 largest communities in Massachusetts most unexpectedly came Quincy Quarry News’ way.
Granted, such not-governmental rankings are often variable in their veracity and thus the Koch Maladministration often relies on ones that would appear to be favorable for Quincy or at least the data are favorably posed.
Conversely, this survey’s methodology seems reasonable enough to yield serviceable rankings.
Town of Milton seal
Image via the Town of Milton
For example, readily assumed to be safe communities are listed among the most safe as well as random comparisons of adjacent communities for the most part lined up as one might expect.
Similarly, assumed to be unsafe communities were ranked as unsafe.
Further boding well for the survey’s veracity, Milton was rated as safer than Quincy and as one might expect as well as that Braintree, Quincy and Weymouth were closely ranked even if Weymouth was rated as the most safe among the three.
At the same, however, Quincy surprisingly ended up ranked among the bottom 20% of the 154 largest communities in the Commonwealth.
Even so, in no way should Quincy’s safe from crime ranking be viewed as a negative for the Quincy Police Department.
Rather, Quincy’s ranking is more a matter of that Quincy is what it is.
The City of Quincy has long been a top-heavy operation with very little innovation. The civil service promotion list is nearly identical to the Mayor’s campaign sheet. The Fire Department promotion list especially mirrors it as well. Further, everyone knew the mayor’s brother in-law was retiring as the police chief and was going to be replaced by the son of a family who had been giving to Koch for years as well as has enjoyed a charmed career from day 1 on the police force.
The best thing the city could do is get a civilian director of public safety along with a civilian police oversight board. Not like the other boards in the City that are stacked with the Mayor’s donors, drivers, or friends. If they were measuring political corruption in Massachusetts, Quincy would be very close to the top of the list.
Soon the Fire Department will get their new turnout gear and then they will begin crying about needing more staffing, new apparatus and of course more promotions and outsized raises.
Just check the mayor’s campaign donation list and you can almost guess who is being promoted in the City.
Respectfully, never stigmatize the son over the sins of his father.
Chief Kennedy has serious experience and civil service points as well as had gone to law school before he was named chief.
And as chief, one of the first things he did was jettison Randy Andy, the former chief’s son and who is also one of the mayor’s nephews.
Even so, truly independent civilian oversight of police forces is a Best Practice.