The director of Cambridge’s Community Safety Department is resigning after more than two years in the role — the latest turn for a department that has found itself embroiled in behind-the-scenes turmoil with the city’s police department.
Elizabeth M. Speakman, who was appointed as the department’s inaugural director in February 2023, confirmed in an interview with The Crimson that she is leaving her position this Friday. Speakman will transition to serve as the interim executive director of the nonprofit Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.
Speakman’s departure, which she said had been planned for several weeks, comes on the heels of flaring tensions between her fledgling department and the Cambridge Police Department over dual programs within the city that send civilian responders to 911 calls instead of just police…