Dan Kennedy recently asked whether newspapers should fact-check op-ed pieces. Given Dianne Wilkerson's previous problems with facts (such as, oh, the date on which taxes are due), one might wonder whether the Globe asked her to prove her assertions in this op-ed article on the Boston Police Department's ability to solve violent crimes. She writes:

There is not one African-American commanding any of Boston's 13 precincts.

Boston Police beg to differ:

...It is assumed that by 'precincts' the author is referring to our police districts. "Precincts" is a term used by New York City, however it is not commonly used in Boston.

Boston has 11 police districts, not 13.

Captain James Claiborne, an African-American, commands District 13. ...

Click on that last link for more police fisking of the honorable senator.

My standard newspaper disclosure.