To the Editor,
As I conclude this series of ten articles regarding the intersection of state policy and our local well-being, I find myself increasingly alarmed by the deteriorating security situation at the Tewksbury State Hospital (TSH) campus.
For too long, the Commonwealth has treated our town as a “silent partner” in managing a high-risk facility, while simultaneously stripping away the tools required to keep the campus—and our community—safe. The Department of Public Health’s (DPH) recent move to restrict non-lethal safety tools, such as pepper spray, for campus security officers is a staggering lapse in judgment. However, the issue goes far deeper than equipment. The fundamental problem is the physical reality of the TSH campus: it is a 900-acre “open campus” with no perimeter gate and no controlled point of entry.
State officials must recognize that the patient population at TSH has fundamentally shifted. It is no longer merely a long-term care facility; it is increasingly a “forensic” site for court-involved individuals with complex psychiatric and criminal histories. Despite this, the campus remains a public thoroughfare hosting eight different substance abuse programs, regional state offices, and a museum. Having families and recovery patients sharing an unfenced space with high-risk forensic patients is not just a policy oversight—it is a recipe for disaster.
When the state refuses to secure the perimeter, they aren’t “reducing stigma”; they are increasing risk. When a patient “elopes” or an incident occurs, the burden doesn’t fall on a bureaucrat in Boston. It falls on the Tewksbury Police and Fire Departments.
This brings us to the hidden “Double Tax” on the people of Tewksbury. Every time a siren heads toward that campus, it is funded by your local property taxes. While the state offers a “Payment in Lieu of Taxes” (PILOT), it is historically underfunded, often returning only pennies on the dollar compared to the actual cost of municipal services. Our local emergency responders are essentially acting as the state’s primary security force, subsidized by Tewksbury residents.
If the Commonwealth insists on maintaining an “open-door” policy for a high-risk facility, they must be held financially accountable. We should not be begging for mitigation funds; we should be receiving a full-value rebate for every man-hour our police and fire departments spend on that campus.
It is time for the Governor and state officials to wake up to these issues before a tragedy occurs. Local leaders should demand an immediate Joint Security Audit of every building on the campus. We need a gated perimeter, limited points of entry, and officers who are equipped to protect themselves and the public. The state’s “savings” on security should not come out of the pockets—or the safety—of Tewksbury taxpayers.
Respectfully,
George Ferdinand
Tewksbury
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