Madison - Michael Heaney, a member of the Board of Police Commissioners, told the Board of Selectmen this week that the commission is prepared to hire two new patrol officers.
“We are happy to announce, after quite a bit of work on the part of the chief and the commission, that we have made offers to two candidates. Both have accepted,” Heaney said. The candidates will fill the two officer slots now open within the Police Department. They will be new recruits.
The hiring of new officers is not a simple process. Candidates are first reviewed, tested, and interviewed by the South Central Criminal Justice Administration. That regional group then sends a list of qualified applicants to area police departments seeking to recruit new officers. Individual police departments and commissions then interview the candidates.
Heaney said Madison's commission interviewed 24 applicants and made offers to two. “These two were among the top ranking applicants, I am pleased to say.” He said one of them, a woman, is the top-ranking candidate of the 24 applicants.
“Both candidates have accepted our offers. They must still meet some additional requirements, including a physical and background checks. They will then enter the State Police Training Academy,” he said.
Police Chief Paul Jakubson said he has secured one spot at the academy, which will begin a new training class on Jan. 3, and hopes he can find a place for the second candidate as well. The training course lasts 22 weeks.
If the two new recruits complete academy training, they are then assigned to 12 weeks of field training with the Madison department. They will be paired with a veteran, certified officer. Following field training, they will begin patrols on their own.
When Selectman Noreen Kokoruda asked when the new recruits would be available “on the street,” Jakubson replied, “By themselves, they will probably be ready by September.”
In response to a question from First Selectman Tom Scarpati, Police Chief Jakubson explained, “The two candidates will be placed on the department payroll when they enter the academy.”
The Police Department presently has a budget for 24 certified police officers, including the chief. For several months, the department has been working with only 22 officers. At times, that number has been even less because two officers have been out on disability and medical leaves.
Scarpati and members of the Board of Finance have been pressuring the Police Department and the commission to fill the two vacant slots. This summer two veteran officers, one a lieutenant and the other a sergeant, retired.