Police chief cites repeated contacts, prosecution gaps and Medford experience in support of exclusion tool

Police Chief Kelly told the council that a small number of people account for repeated police contacts and that current criminal-justice processes often fail to produce sustained consequences. Kelly offered redacted case files and described one individual with ‘‘83 contacts’’ and another with ‘‘142’’ contacts; he argued that an exclusion tool could reduce repeated deployments and related public-safety risks.

Kelly also cited broader prosecution and defense constraints—he said the district attorney’s office is reluctant to file some low-level cases and that bail-reform and defense availability sometimes result in rapid release. ‘‘We arrest them and they’re turned right back out,’’ Kelly said. Councilors pressed Kelly for empirical evidence on Medford’s results; Kelly said Medford tracked illegal camping and that city officials reported reductions in camps after combining exclusion measures with criminalization of camping, and he offered to forward documentation.