Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Quincy approves police budget with new cyber‑crime analyst and four patrol positions
Summary
City council approved the Quincy Police Departmentbudget after Chief Kennedy outlined plans to add four patrol officers, create an evidence‑room modernization program tied to the new public safety headquarters and fund a non‑sworn cryptocurrency investigative analyst to help recover scam proceeds.
Quincy City Council approved the police department—s FY26 budget on a motion by Councilor Harris that passed at the May 13 budget hearing.
Chief Kennedy told the council the budget includes four additional patrol officers, funding for a move into the new public safety headquarters and $ for revamping evidence storage and purging decades of legacy material. He said the department currently maintains separate rooms for assault evidence, drug evidence and general property and that moving to the new building creates an opportunity to preserve chain of custody and to purge evidence linked to disposed cases.
The chief described a new non‑sworn investigative analyst position focused on cryptocurrency and digital wallet tracing. "The best thing we can do for our residents is try and get them their money back," Kennedy said, explaining the position would attend a Department of Homeland Security cryptocurrency analysis course and give Quincy capacity to start immediate investigations instead of relying on state or federal partners. He said many fraud suspects operate overseas, so speed in tracking transfers is critical.
Kennedy also reviewed years of crime data: a 63% increase in shoplifting in 2024 compared with 2023, the creation of a shoplifting task force that he said produced a 50% drop in shoplifting calls after increased enforcement, and reductions in burglary and robbery. He credited a crime analyst and courts coordination for those results.
On overdose responses, Kennedy said the department now staffs two full‑time mental health clinicians integrated with the community services unit. He said the clinicians conduct follow‑ups with overdose survivors and coordinate referrals: "We now have 58 follow ups" recorded in 2024 and two clinicians assigned to officers to provide outreach and recovery referrals.
Kennedy also discussed body armor and training funding: Quincy does not qualify for certain federal/state grants for vests because of department size and relatively low violent‑crime levels, he said. He described ongoing investments in de‑escalation and use‑of‑force training and reported that force was used in less than 1% of the roughly 1,100 arrests handled last year.
The council voted to approve the police budget by voice vote; the chair recorded "ayes have it."
