DETAILS

Despite governor's call for limits, some police continue to make thousands on assignments

Jim O'Brien, a Malden police officer, works a detail on Pleasant Street near Vista Street where a Verizon crew was fixing a broken pipe that was shorting out a line. (MATTHEW J. LEE/GLOBE STAFF)

Local police officers have pulled in tens of thousands of dollars a year standing watch on private details at utility and road construction projects, and they show no sign of backing off despite a call by Governor Deval Patrick to curb the practice.

In Lynn, a police officer netted $65,689 in 2007, swelling his take-home pay to $150,729, according to a Globe survey.

In the same year, in Beverly, a captain collected nearly $38,000 in detail pay, giving him a total yearly take of more than $156,000, while a Saugus patrolman made more in details, at $53,086, than in his base pay of $49,584.

Patrick has pushed through new rules tightening use of police officers on details for state projects, and switching to civilian flaggers for some state jobs. But at the local level, police chiefs north of Boston defend the use of police officers on details and vow to continue it in their communities.

"If we can put uniformed police officers on the street on details without a direct impact on taxpayers, I think it's a good thing," said Lynn Police Chief John W. Suslak.

The main case against police details has been their price tag. The Patrick administration estimated that of the $20 million to $25 million spent annually on police details by the state, the new policy would mean a savings of between $5.7 million and $7.2 million per year.

In 2004, the Beacon Hill Institute, a private think tank, estimated that local police officers in Massachusetts earned $141.4 million working details the previous year, with $93 million of that spent on traffic control.

While the bills for details are paid by the company doing the hiring - not the city or town - critics like the Beacon Hill Institute say the top dollar paid for sworn police officers gets added onto utility rates and other costs ultimately borne by consumers.

At Verizon, spokesman Philip G. Santoro said the company spends about $12 million annually for police details in Massachusetts. Santoro pointed out that "we've successfully used both details and flaggers across the country at our work sites."

The cost for a police officer on a detail is generally about $40 per hour, controlled by a union contract, according to Frederick Ryan, the Arlington police chief who is a spokesman for the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs, a professional organization. The contracts usually require a company to hire an officer for a minimum of four hours, and if the time runs over that, to pay for eight hours, Ryan said.

The details add millions to police pay. In Beverly, for example, police topped off their combined 2007 salaries of $6.5 million with $1.2 million on details. The top detail earner that year was Captain John DiVincenzo, with $37,768 from details as part of his total pay of $156,423. DiVincenzo did not return a reporter's calls seeking comment.

That same year, the top detail earner in Lynn was Officer John Dean, with $65,689 in details included in his annual take of $150,729. "I think we do a good job out there," Dean said. "We do a lot of things besides protecting people we work for, [including] traffic and pedestrian [control]."

In Saugus, Officer Timothy Fawcett earned $53,086 in detail work, which with overtime and other pay, brought his total pay last year to $125,856.

Fawcett did not return calls for comment on his detail pay.

Around the region, there is little appetite to change the system on the local level.

"I believe that police details have solved lots of crimes and saved lives," said Malden police Chief Kenneth A. Coye. "I think they're a real bargain. This is a public safety issue where people get a tremendous bang for the buck."

Lynn Mayor Edward Clancy said the city has so many pressing problems that the use of police details "is not a hot-button issue." Similarly, Saugus Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said officials there "had not come to the point yet" of considering a change.

Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash said he was "very excited" when Patrick raised the issue. Ash said he "had long wondered whether we were getting value for our dollars."

However, after studying the issue, Ash said he discovered that switching to civilian flaggers would save the city only 15 cents per hour. Moreover, he said, police on details this year had made 28 arrests as of September.

Ash said that he, the City Council, and the city's two police unions plan to hash out a new policy by the end of the year that likely would curb the police details somewhat by barring them where they are not needed, such as on dead-end streets.

Several area police chiefs maintained that police on details add extra eyes and ears attuned to crime in city and town centers and neighborhoods. They said they deemed the use of details crucial in a time of fiscal austerity, when many communities are cutting back public safety budgets.

"In my opinion, they're good for the police and they're good for the city," said Saugus police Chief Dominic DiMella.

DiMella said his department is so shorthanded that he usually has only three police cars on the street at a time, making the police on detail an informal supplementary force. "With the financial resources we have, it's an added bonus: They give us visibility, and they have the power of arrest and the power to serve citations," he said.

Police pointed to many instances in which officers on detail helped with a medical emergency, stopped a crime, or joined in catching a suspected thief.

In Lynn, for example, police Sergeant Henry Wojewodzic was working a private detail in July when he was approached by witnesses who told him about a nearby assault with a handgun during a road-rage incident, according to Suslak.

Wojewodzic immediately alerted other police officers, who tracked down the three men allegedly involved. The suspects were charged with assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and other crimes. Two of the suspects turned out to be members of a local gang, Suslak said.

Wojewodzic cleared $112,246 in salary last year, with $8,195 from details.

Many police argue that officers do not make high enough base salaries and benefits to afford to live in the pricey Northeast without serving on private details.

"I think police are woefully underpaid," said Newburyport police Lieutenant Mark Murray, the department's detail officer. "There are people out there making a half million per year, and they [complain] because we make $100,000. For some reason, the details bother them because we're making a couple extra bucks. Nobody likes to work 80 hours a week, but you have to do it sometimes to make a living."

The chiefs stressed that eliminating private details would not automatically free up police officers to walk the beat. The chiefs said details represent a second job, adding to the hours officers work and the dangerous situations they face. Nor does detail pay figure into calculation for pensions, the chiefs noted.

The details do not boost taxes, but many communities make money on them.

Most charge an administrative fee of 10 percent to the companies hiring the detail officers. Some also require companies to pay a fee for use of cruisers on details.

Murray said Newburyport charges $50 per day for a cruiser, but they are not used much. Saugus charges $3 per shift, and DiMella said he is considering raising it to $6.

The departments surveyed all have rules prohibiting officers from working more than two eight-hour shifts in succession in a 24-hour-period, with some exceptions approved by the chief.

Connie Paige can be reached at connie_paige@yahoo.com.