On February 27, HopNews issued a Public Records Request to the Hopkinton Police Department seeking 13 months of GPS data for all department-owned vehicles. Specifically, we requested trip data, including the date, start time, end time, the vehicle ID, the officer that was driving, and if available, a report number, for all police department cruisers, including non-patrol vehicles, such as the car driven by the chief of police.
GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a worldwide navigation system that uses a network of satellites orbiting the Earth to provide location and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on the planet. GPS is the system that allows smartphones and a car’s navigation system to determine a precise location.
Following the records request, on March 11 we received a response from Bryan Bertram, the town’s attorney, which denied the request on several grounds. The letter read in part:
“While certain systems in the Department’s police cruisers may utilize GPS data, the Department does not create reports or otherwise systematically log that data in any form or fashion. Nor is the Department aware of any means that it has at its disposal to generate or store such reports.”
Subsequently, HopNews confirmed with several officers that while department vehicles do have GPS capability through the in-car computer, those systems are currently disabled. The officers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the department.
HopNews also inquired with Hopkinton Fire Chief Gary Daugherty, Jr., who confirmed that all fire department vehicles are equipped with GPS, and that those systems are fully operational. “We need to know where our vehicles are all times in case we have multiple simultaneous events,” said Daugherty.
The exact date of when GPS systems were installed in Hopkinton’s police cruisers in unknown, but what is certain is that it resulted in a change in working conditions, and thus were discussed with the police union as part of a collective bargaining agreement. The union’s acceptance of this condition and subsequent implementation of the GPS system and associated software came at a significant cost to the town.
The disabling of the GPS system in police department vehicles poses several significant problems that impact not only the operational efficiency of the force but also public safety and trust.
Without a functioning GPS system, the ability to dispatch police units to incidents quickly and efficiently is severely hindered. In emergencies, every second counts, and the lack of real-time data can lead to delays that might have dire consequences for the safety and well-being of the town’s residents.
Additionally, GPS tracking is crucial for maintaining accountability within the force. It allows for the monitoring of police vehicles, ensuring that officers are where they are supposed to be and are responding appropriately to calls. The absence of this oversight mechanism opens the door to questions about the department’s transparency.
Further, GPS systems not only help in deploying officers based on their proximity to incidents but also play a critical role in ensuring their safety. In situations where an officer might need immediate backup or is unresponsive, a functioning GPS system can be the difference between a swift rescue operation and a tragic outcome.
This issue was brought to the Select Board’s attention on Tuesday, March 12, and Chair Muriel Kramer committed to discussing it at a future meeting.
Restoring GPS functionality in Hopkinton’s police department vehicles is not merely a matter of technological repair; it is a critical step toward enhancing public safety, trust, and the overall effectiveness of the town’s emergency response capabilities.
Was any reason given for the GPS being turned off?
According to our sources, the officers prefer it that way.
Shouldn’t we, as the people who pay for these vehicles, be the ones who prefer the gps on? Seems a lot of things happenings within that department that are being uncovered…
“…but what is certain is that it resulted in a change in working conditions, and thus were discussed with the police union as part of a collective bargaining agreement…”
That’s a stretch. Officers don’t need to do anything different with GPS active in the vehicle. Nothing. No extra work, no reports, nothing. It could be turned on and they would never know.
Meanwhile, I envision a dispatcher looking at a screen telling him exactly where all the vehicles are. I would think that could be very useful.
Ok, so how about a compromise? No historical data is kept. Only current positions are shown. Or, maybe one day’s worth of data. Or an hour. Take your pick.
Why is a compromise needed? Why shouldn’t there be a historical record, that might be useful in some future investigation, whether of the officer or something else?
That’s where the change in working conditions with regard to the collective bargaining agreement come into play. But again, I don’t see the change in work conditions.
Keep up the good work. This is another example of things not being “transparent” at HPD headquarters. Still waiting to see the Kroll report interview with Bennett, and has the SB gotten a copy of the no confidence letter sent by the 5 sergeants? Keep digging, where there is smoke, there’s fire!!
Does the Police Chief have any authority at the PD? If this GPS system was purchased for a reason, and came at a “significant cost to the town,” then shouldn’t the Chief simply say it is a department policy to have this functioning and on at all times in every department-assigned vehicle? And then, of course, actually write a real policy.
There’s hope to resolve this. When discussing items they might want to add to the upcoming agendas, Muriel asked the Board if they wanted “to entertain the discussion about the GPS activation on the vehicles.”
Irfan Nasrullah thought they should talk about it at the next available date. It’s refreshing to think he might be realizing there’s been a lot more falling apart than he may have realized.
Or, maybe this can be simply fixed if, as Amy Ritterbusch suggested, “there’s just a technical issue or something.”
True to form, Mary Jo Lafreniere had no idea what Muriel was talking about.
Maybe it’s just me overthinking it, but I’ve replayed this discussion amongst the Board, and I got the feeling that Muriel very quickly tried to cover for Mary Jo’s lack obvious lack of attention to the information shared at open forum.
Perhaps Mary Jo will replay the portion of the meeting she “missed” as well.
How many more clear examples will be needed for the Board members to come to terms with the fact that they have failed to take the necessary actions to fire the Police Chief for far too long — and things are getting worse by the day (not exaggerating).
Yet again, HopNews comes through to point out an error that should have already been known.
You could consider doing a FOIA request for the technical data associated with the patrol car communications and electronics equipment, and officer radio equipment to better understand the capabilities of the equipment the Hopkinton taxpayers purchased for our officers. Most modern public safety vehicular radio equipment suites include the hooks that allow full integration with other vehicle electronics systems such as GPS receivers and data terminals. Modern hand held radios, at the upper end of the cost spectrum, have build in GPS position reporting features.
These handheld and vehicular “police” radios can be configured/programmed to include the automatic sending of GPS position and identification information, transmitted as a brief data burst, at the start of each radio transmission, or at periodic intervals, or on demand from dispatch. The over the air audio recorded at the station would capture this data burst (if implemented) along with the officers voice transmissions. It would also be very easy to integrate a position logging system at the station, that would capture, store, and even display the data graphically on a map display, greatly enhancing officer safety. The fire chief clearly has the right idea.
Thank you very much for taking the time to explain the more technical aspects and potential. Very helpful.
Thank you for the continued vigilance and excellent reporting on this Town’s serious issues. Hopkinton is fortunate to have such a strong local media presence. Keep up the great journalism.
And yes, as many have mentioned previously, thanks for your coverage of this. Your coverage of the Brennan fiasco was invaluable to me.