Fiore noted that the current members of the force are looking forward to having the new members, since many have been working overtime to make up for the shortage of manpower.

They will have to do so for a while longer, since it will be eight months before all the new recruits have completed five months of training at the state police academy in Milford and then more training in Westport.

Fiore said that the recruits had gone through a rigorous selection process. From a large group of candidates, the Westport Police Department picked those who earned the top scores in both a written and oral exam. The candidates were then given interviews, physical and psychological exams, a polygraph test and a long background check.

When asked if the two new women on the force meant that Westport police were making an effort to recruit women, Fiore said that while the department always encourages diversity, it did not particularly look for women, but simply chose those who received the top scores on the tests.

The three latest recruits range in age from 23 to 43 and include one woman.

She is Sereniti Dobson, 26, the single mother of an eight-year-old daughter. While no one in her family has been in public service before, she said that law enforcement "has been my passion ever since I could remember." She graduated in 2002 from the University of New Haven with a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice and with a special concentration in investigative services. For most of the past 10 years, she has been an office manager for an ad agency in Norwalk.

Interning in the pathology lab at Yale School of Medicine whetted her appetite for becoming a detective. She chose Westport because she grew up in Norwalk and has family nearby.

One of Sereneti's two older brothers, Bob Dobson, said he thinks his sister will make a good police officer. "She's very dedicated in what she does. She's very strong-willed, very tough," he said.

Craig Bergamo, 23, also grew up in Stamford and Norwalk, moving a total of 17 times. Having lived in many poor neighborhoods and being well aware of the differences in Fairfield County between the wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods, he wanted to do something to  help people and thought that being a police officer would be the best bet.

He has completed an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice from Norwalk Community College and was enrolled full time at Western Connecticut State University in law enforcement when he was hired to work in Westport. Getting the job he wanted  caused him to put school on hold.  He figures he can go back in the future.

Ian Tauss, 43, is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and was a chef before he decided to work in sales and marketing for a large beer and beverage company, Phoenix Beverages in Long Island City.

A career in law enforcement is "something that's been on the back burner for a few years," he said. He describes it as a "noble career," and one in which a person can go as far as they want.

Now that this career is on the front burner, Tauss will probably move from New York to Fairfield with his wife and children. He is from suburban Philadelphia originally and she is from Westchester County, so it will be a coming home of sort for them.

©Westport Minuteman 2006