Understaffed Stamford Police force receive over 200 officer applicants

By AMANDA PINTO
apinto@thestamfordtimes.com
01/25/2007

STAMFORD — The police department's recent recruiting push resulted in 228 applicants, Director of Human Resources Dennis Murphy said Jan. 17.

City officials said they hope 20 to 30 new officers will emerge from this group, helping to thicken a department currently 30 officers short of its authorized maximum.

Police Public Information Officer Lt. Sean Cooney has said hundreds of applications are necessary to achieve that number of officers, because applicants must pass a February written exam, rigorous physical testing and background checks in order to become officers.

"It's a very lengthy cycle you have to go through in order to get hired and sent to the academy," he said.

The recruiting effort may have been helped by what Murphy considers a competitive salary — starting pay for officers is listed at $47,042 the first year, but he said the number should climb to more than $49,000 once arbitration is complete and the police contract is approved.

Recruits are crucial as the department, currently at about 280 officers, struggles to reach the 313 maximum officers budgeted for the city.

Police Chief Brent Larrabee is working with human resources to establish a "rolling test," he said, in order to meet that minimum. The department is already running two academies a year, and has sent seven officers from a waiting list to train at an academy facility in Meriden, Cooney said.

Of the 19 officers in Stamford's police academy, three have resigned for "various reasons," said Sgt. Kris Engstrand, training coordinator.

"I wouldn't call it typical," he said. "But it's not that unusual."

The shrinking numbers hurt the department because 10 to 20 officers are expected to retire during the next year, Larrabee said. He expects the strained force will result in heavy overtime expenditures.

"Overtime will always be an issue," he said.

Board of Finance members who discussed the issue at a recent meeting offered Larrabee ideas on how to attract more officers to the city.

Joseph Tarzia, who is also teaches at Westhill High School, suggested marketing to the city's youth and educating them about future careers on the police force.

"A lot of them are very good kids whose potential hasn't been pulled out yet," he said.

Vice Chairman Michael Pollard suggested an agreement with area developers that would result in an arrangement similar to the affordable housing component in new buildings. A percent of public housing could be reserved, at reduced cost, for public safety new hires, he said.

"It'd be a great recruiting tool because you're paying less than [market] rate and you have public safety officials living in the city," he said adding that it would be of no cost to Stamford, and would help the developments themselves. "Everyone wants a police officer living in their building."