The Massachusetts State Police plans to step up efforts to fight terrorism and other threats by creating a Homeland Security division.
The new division has been in the works with state police and the governor for months. Boston 25 News obtained an email from the State Police Colonel Richard D. McKeon sent to every state trooper laying out the plans for the new division.
In his words, "it's not our choice, it's our duty."
It goes beyond the Commonwealth Fusion Center, developed years ago, to provide a 24-hour location that shares information between local, state and federal authorities relevant to keeping people safe.
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“The urgency of securing our nation, our states and our institutions against extremism and other threats not only persists but has intensified across the globe, sometimes seemingly on a daily basis,” wrote McKeon.
The unit would focus solely on homeland security in Massachusetts, using assets like the Air Wing unit, which was key in the takedown of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the marathon bombers.
Boston 25 Security Expert Dan Linskey said adding this division will only help law enforcement.
“Having a real time crime center kind of like Boston police has for state police is a good idea, I think it gives a great sense of all of the resources working under a more coordinated response,” he said.
McKeon also said in his email to troopers that he calls the growing opioid epidemic in this area part of homeland security, writing "the scourge of overdose deaths and the violence that walks hand-in-hand with drug trafficking weakens our neighborhoods."
In a statement, Gov. Charlie Baker said, "this new division allows us to bring the different elements of our homeland security operations under one command to enhance our ability to assess and counter the range of threats facing us, from terrorism to narcotics."
It's not clear how much this new unit would cost. The colonel told staff the agency is trying to get funding from several outside areas, including grants.
State police told Boston 25 News they were planning to announce these details in a news conference Wednesday, but canceled it. We asked why they canceled it but have not received a response.