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BPD moves to automated detail scheduling; Extra Duty Solutions implementation set for September/October
Summary
The Boston Police Department said it awarded a contract to Extra Duty Solutions to automate additional‑work (detail) scheduling and expects implementation in September or October; the city has a separate contract to hire civilian flaggers managed by the Ed Davis company, pending finalization.
At a May 15 Ways and Means hearing, Boston Police Department officials told councilors they had awarded a contract to Extra Duty Solutions to manage and automate the department’s extra‑duty (detail) scheduling and billing system and that implementation is underway.
The department said the new vendor will integrate with city payroll and other department systems and that weekly meetings are under way to start the technical work. “We did award a contract to Extra Duty Solutions… and now they have commenced weekly meetings, going over how we're gonna integrate the information,” an official said. The department anticipates the new system will be implemented in the September–October timeframe.
Councilors asked how automation would affect sworn staffing assigned to administer details. The Commissioner said the technology “should decrease the number of sworn we have there by at least 90%,” and that officers reassigned from administrative detail work would return to patrol duties when the system is fully operational.
Separately, the department said it has selected a third‑party contractor to recruit, hire and train civilian flaggers and other non‑sworn workers that can staff traffic and construction details. Officials named the Ed Davis company as the vendor chosen to manage hiring and training; as of the hearing that contract had not yet been fully executed and rates were still being finalized.
Why this matters: Detail work—traffic and construction flagging, event coverage and other extra‑duty assignments—has been a major source of overtime and of police time spent on non‑emergency tasks. Automation and the use of civilian flaggers are intended to reduce the number of sworn officers assigned to administrative scheduling and to free patrol officers for response duties.
What’s next: Officials said the Extra Duty Solutions implementation will continue through weekly integration work; the committee asked for updates on implementation milestones and on how many sworn positions will be returned to patrol as the system rolls out.
Ending: No council vote was taken. The department said it will report back with progress updates and that the detail‑system implementation is expected in September–October 2025.
