Boston Council Committee Advances Petition to Raise Police Academy Age Cap to 44

BOSTON — September 9, 2024 — Boston City Council committee advances petition to raise the police academy entrance age from 39 to 44. The Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Councillor Gabriela Coletta Zapata and co-sponsored by Councillors Enrique J. Pepén and Henry Santana, held a hearing Monday on Docket 0926, a Home Rule Petition that would amend the city's maximum age requirement for the Boston Police Academy entrance examination. Lisa O'Brien, Bureau Chief of Administration and Technology at BPD, told the panel the commissioner "has no objections" to raising the limit and noted that veterans could qualify up to age 49 under the change. O'Brien disclosed the department is funded for roughly 250 recruits across two upcoming classes but entered only about 140 candidates into its current class, which has since shrunk to approximately 111. Patrolmen's Association President Larry Calderon supported the petition while pressing the council to also revisit the residency policy, saying the department is short "approximately 400" officers against a city-mandated floor of 2,500. Chair Coletta Zapata said she intends to bring the measure to the full council for a vote as early as Wednesday, after which it would require action from the mayor and the state legislature.