Springfield Chief: Finding officers proves difficult, costly

Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said finding qualified police officers is getting harder and harder.

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Springfield Chief: Finding officers proves difficult, costly By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | January 11,2016 Email Article Print Article SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said finding qualified police officers is getting harder and harder. Johnston told members of the Springfield Budget Advisory Committee Friday that the police department was currently down one officer, and that getting a new officer would take months. “Finding a police officer — it’s hard,” said Johnston, who said it usually takes about six months of training after the decision to hire before an officer can be on the road in a cruiser. He said the Vermont Police Academy only holds two classes a year, and the next class is slated to start in February. But he said of the 38 spots in the class, 20 are reserved for the Vermont State Police, which he said was facing a big wave of retirements in the next several years and was angling to fill its ranks in anticipation of those retirements. Johnston said that adding a third class a year (each class takes 18 weeks) is largely a matter of funding from the Vermont Legislature. Springfield Police Lt. Mark Fountain said the academy used to do four classes a year. Johnston said that after the 18 weeks in Pittsford at the state academy, the new officer undergoes nine weeks of local field training. “You don’t see them for six months,” he said. He said the problem is New England wide, and not limited to Springfield or even Vermont. And, he said, the “publicity” surrounding recent police shootings “is not helping either.” The three budget advisory members, which included two former Select Board members, didn’t have major questions for Johnston or Fountain. The budget meeting at the police station was one of a series of local visits to different town departments for the committee in recent days. Johnston said that he was considering asking neighboring police departments, who use the Springfield Police Department’s fingerprint and photo machine, to contribute to its annual maintenance costs. Johnston said the machine is purchased with a state grant with the understanding that other departments be allowed to use it. But he said the grant doesn’t cover the annual maintenance costs, which he estimated at about $3,600. He said Chester police and Weathersfield police both use the Springfield machine, although Chester uses the Vermont State Police machine at its Rockingham barracks. But with the move of the state police to its new barracks in Westminster later this year, he said he expected Chester to use the Springfield equipment more. “We’re the closest or handiest facility,” said Johnston, who said he wanted to charge a flat fee to the other departments based on their usage, rather than keeping track of each usage. “We’re bearing the maintenance costs,” he said.