The city of Springfield is being granted a release from a decades-old federal consent decree meant to strengthen diversity hiring.
The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office made the announcement on Friday.
The Springfield Fire Department was released earlier this summer from the 1970s decree that covered municipalities across the commonwealth.
“Our police department for years has mirrored the demographics of our city. Thanks to our human resources manager, we have taken the right steps in hiring to lead us beyond parity. Each year it becomes more and more difficult to recruit police officers and the screening is more complex than ever with background checks, physical fitness tests and civil service exams. Being removed from this consent decree is not going to impact the inclusivity of our hiring process; the recent trends show that our diversity levels will only grow stronger,” said Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood.
The Springfield PD says it has four-hundred sworn patrol officers consisting of 58-percent members that are black, Asian or Hispanic.