Lexluthor34

The entire graduating class of the Worcester Police Academy at Worcester Technical High School proudly received their badges yesterday which ultimately ended up being a bittersweet moment as they are set to return those fresh new badges for immediate lay-offs tomorrow. I could only imagine what it must feel like to go through 25 weeks of weapons and classroom training  just to hear; hey good job but we don’t have work for you so we’re gonna need that badge back. a total of 32 recruits were laid off and there could be more to come due to the tight fiscal constraints on the Worcester Police Department.  Worcester stands to lose upwards of 90 officers including retirees.

WPD has made similar cuts in the past,  most recently were the cuts of 2004 which led to the most violent summer in Worcester’s history.”In 2004  gun violence was crazy in the city” stated police chief  Gary J. Gemme, “We had guns,gangs that whole culture of violence”this leaves me to think.. what now? With jobs harder to come by, people start looking to get money by any means necessary,and with the police force functioning at minimum, Worcester could be subject to the same kind of violence that gripped the city in 2004 and 2005. With a total of 62 shooting incidents,70 shooting victims and 12 fatalities in less than 24 months it doesn’t take very long for the crime to spike so i hope we are all paying attention because things aren’t going to get any easier any time soon….

Filed under: DID YOU KNOW Tagged: | $5.5 million reduction, Adam Bullock, Amanda E. Schlegel, Central District substation, City Manager, civil, community, crime, crime spike, Edwin Guzman, Fiscal constraints, gangs, Gary J. Gemme, guns, john dowd, MA, mass, Michael V. O’Brien, Patrol Division, police, police academy, police badge, Police Chief, POLICE CLASS GRADUATE, recruits, safety, shooting, summer, unsafe, VIOLENCE, violent crime, William D. Dowd, worcester, Worcester Police Academy graduating class, wpd