State Representative Hannah Kane during a speech at the celebration of Armed Forces Day in the town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts | Photo courtesy of the State Representative Hannah Kane OfficeShrewsbury State Representative Hannah Kane, opposes a recently approved by the majority of legislators “police reform bill,” saying “it threatens to compromise public safety by making an already difficult job even more dangerous for Massachusetts law enforcement officials.”
The Senate Bill 2963, An Act relative to justice, equity, and accountability in law enforcement in the Commonwealth, was approved by the House of Representatives on a vote of 92-67 on December 1, 2020. The same day, the Senate also passed it on a vote of 28-12.
The legislation “represents a compromise between two earlier versions of the bill that were approved by the House and Senate in July and negotiated by a six-member conference committee over the last four months,” Kane explained in a statement, and detailed that the committee’s report “was filed just one day before a vote was taken, leaving members little time to thoroughly review the 129-page document.”
Representative Kane voted against the bill and expressed concerns that “it goes well beyond the core policing reforms endorsed by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, reforms which she strongly supports.” “These reforms include establishing a statewide licensing and certification process for all law enforcement officers, implementing a ban on the use of choke-holds, and requiring officers to intervene if they witness police misconduct by their colleagues,” the Shrewsbury legislator stated.
Senate Bill 2963 includes the establishment of a Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission that, unlike other professional licensing boards in Massachusetts, would be “comprised primarily of individuals working outside the profession it will be responsible for overseeing.”
Representative Kane remarked that Senate Bill 2963 would also eliminate the requirement that schools employ school resource officers and “would significantly curtail the ability of schools to share certain information with local police departments.” This lack of information-sharing “could severely impair law enforcement’s ability to monitor youth gang activity,” Kane said.
Representative Kane stated she also shares the concerns raised by law enforcement officers that the bill would limit their ability to defend themselves in situations where their lives may be at risk.
The Republican Legislator from Shrewsbury also highlighted Attorney General Maura Healey’s concerns centered around the potential conflicts the reform could arise in cases involving child sexual exploitation, kidnappings, or hostage situations, where the prohibition of a no-knock warrant when a child under the age of 18 or a person over the age of 65 is present, could compromise the safety of minors and seniors.
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