SWAMPSCOTT — The Police Department is looking to hire two new officers by the beginning of the fall.
Last October, the department filled five much-needed positions through a hiring effort that offered a $2,500 bonus for new hires and a $10,000 bonus for lateral transfers from other municipalities. Chief Ruben Quesada said that a five-person hiring committee is examining applicants from that pool as potential candidates. However, the bonuses are no longer being offered.
“I would like to get them on board by September or October, at the very latest,” Quesada said.
He added that the summer months can be a difficult time to attempt to hire and onboard new employees due to fluctuating schedules and potential vacations.
Three new recruits are set to join the department after their graduation from the police academy on July 29, however, they will still have to be trained by veteran officers. Quesada named that as a large reason why additional hiring is still necessary.
“We’ll have used up all our people, basically,” Quesada said. “They have to be trained by a certified field training officer in our department.”
Quesada recounted a recent on-foot pursuit as an example of the need for additional employees. He emphasized that it required assistance from all four of the department’s officers on duty at the time, which was still not enough to apprehend the suspect.
“We had to call Lynn Police to help set up a perimeter to try and find this individual,” Quesada said. “You’ll hear some officers say, ‘We don’t have enough people on the streets.’ That’s correct when we have an incident occur.”
Any candidate chosen by the hiring committee to move forward in the process will then be subject to a background check. If they pass it, they will then meet with Quesada before an interview with Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald, who is the final hiring authority.
