There are continuing tensions between the mayor of Boston and the city's police commissioner, Kathleen O'Toole, as the commissioner waits to hear if she is to head the new Garda Inspectorate, one of her close advisers has said.
Prof Jack Greene, dean of the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, said it was "not unknown" that there was a power struggle between Mayor Thomas M Menino and Commissioner O'Toole over recent increases in violent crime in Boston.
Prof Greene, who meets with Commissioner O'Toole several times a month to advise on crime prevention, told The Irish Times there was a "bit of a rift" between the pair and that Commissioner O'Toole's possible departure was providing "great fodder" for the city's newspapers.
His comments follow reports in the two largest Boston newspapers that Commissioner O'Toole's name being mentioned in connection with the Dublin job has increased tension in City Hall.
"Mayor Menino is a 'hands-on' mayor. It always creates struggles when your department is being run by your boss. I guess they've just reached an accommodation," Prof Greene said.
He added that Mayor Menino has been "asserting himself" into the police commissioner's office without providing the extra funding for her to improve Boston's crime figures. "She is increasingly finding herself in a position of not having the wherewithal to improve the situation and this has created a difficult situation for her," he said.
Prof Greene, who advises Ms O'Toole on a training programme in Boston for Irish Department of Justice managers , said there was an unnecessary "moral panic" about crime in Boston because of increased violent crime in the last year.
The Boston Herald said yesterday the police commissioner and the mayor met briefly on Monday and "staged a quick photo-op as tension mounted over whether she'll bolt Boston for a job helping oversee police in Ireland". It quoted an anonymous Boston Police Department official as saying Commissioner O'Toole's possible departure is being dragged out and the police department lacked leadership.
The Boston Globe wrote in an editorial that Commissioner O'Toole had not informed the mayor that she was seeking the Dublin job.
Mayor Menino's spokeswoman said his office was still waiting to hear if Commissioner O'Toole was to take up a new position in Ireland.