T police seek merger with state force

The union representing MBTA Transit Police officers plans to seek legislative approval by the end of the year to merge with the State Police, saying that T police don't have the manpower or money to properly patrol stations in 175 cities and towns.

But the State Police union opposes a merger, and key lawmakers doubt that it will happen without their backing.

T police union officials say the transit system is vulnerable to the same kind of terrorist bombings that hit mass transit in Madrid in 2004, London last year, and Mumbai, India, on July 11. Six to seven officers per eight-hour shift typically patrol each of the five service areas, stretching from the New Hampshire border to Rhode Island.

``We need an additional 250 to 300 police officers, as well as a full complement of assets (helicopters, patrol boats, etc.) to patrol the expanding transit system and to meet the demands of securing a transit system in a post-9/11, post-Madrid, and post-London world," Michael Flanagan, president of the MBTA Police Association, wrote to House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi in June.

The union represents 180 detectives and patrol officers.

The T police force has one less officer than before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and has retained only about 35 of the 170 graduates of its training academy since 1997, because many officers leave for higher-paying jobs with the State Police, Boston police, and other departments, union officials said.

While crime dropped on T subway lines in the first half of the year, Flanagan said, a merger would provide greater security and police services for the 1.2 million daily riders of the T.

``If we had the extra cops, we'd be riding the trains," he said.

While some legislators have told union officials they will consider the move, which is similar to a failed merger proposal in 1997, it is already meeting strong resistance from the State Police Association of Massachusetts, which represents State Police sergeants and troopers.

``The MBTA police have a lot to be proud of," said Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, a Cambridge Democrat who is chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.

``But with opposition from the entity they would like to merge into, it's akin to a hostile takeover that's going to make this a very uphill battle."

A State Police spokeswoman, Lieutenant Sharon Costine, said the agency ``has had no discussions regarding a merger with the MBTA police."

John Coflesky, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, wrote to Barrios in June to say he was ``adamantly opposing" the plan.

Coflesky, who did not return phone calls yesterday seeking comment, said a merger would not improve public safety, but would increase costs, create a conflict between the two union contracts and the two agencies' training methods.

Flanagan, however, said a merger would bring significant cost savings for the state and the MBTA, which is planning to increase fares in January as it deals with $8.1 billion in debt and declines in state funding through the sales tax.

Flanagan said a merger would also make the state eligible for more federal antiterrorism money, because it would move the T police from the state's Transportation Office to its Public Safety Office, which gets more direct Homeland Security funding.

The proposal, still in draft form, would turn MBTA Transit Police into its own State Police troop. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority would give the State Police about half of the $18 million a year it now puts into the T police. The T Troop would largely patrol the subway system, while other State Police barracks would be responsible for incidents on outlying commuter rail stops, Flanagan said.

Similar merger proposals between police agencies have turned into huge turf battles in the past.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino's proposal to merge Boston Municipal Police with the Boston Police Department drew immediate fire from the Boston Police Patrolman's Association.

MBTA Transit Police Chief Joseph C. Carter and MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas were unavailable for comment.

Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.