BRUNSWICK

Brunswick Police Department has experienced a recent spate of retirements and resignations that has pulled detectives from their normal assignments in order to cover patrol shifts.

The department announced the retirement last week of two veteran members and soon two more members are leaving for other jobs.

Brunswick Police Cmdr. Mark Waltz said by mid-September the department will be down seven people to a total of 28 people. Some voluntary and some forced overtime has resulted from the shortage, and some of the detectives have been reassigned to cover patrol shifts.

“If we’re lucky and can find some presently certified candidates, then they could be brought up to speed and trained and be on the road by December,” Waltz said.

But if they have to hire people who haven’t graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, it will be about this time next year before they could be ready to hit the road after attending the academy and completing field training.

The field of law enforcement is having difficulty attracting people on a national level, Waltz said. It is probably a combination of hours — nights and weekends, seeing some of the worst things in life, as well as the political and social climate that seems to vilify police contributing to the trend.

Brunswick Police Chief Richard Rizzo added that the pay is relatively low for what police officers are asked to do.

Rizzo said the department normally has a difficult time filling openings, and likes to hire people who are familiar with the general area and tend to stay in the area.

The department is now offering a $5,000 signing bonus to certified officers. They get $2,500 when they sign on and another $2,500 a year later.

“I think the way that we can make ourselves more appealing to folks in their 20s is to emphasize the service aspect,” Waltz said. “A lot of younger folks are looking for ways to serve their community and this is a service to the community.”

Topsham Police Chief Chris Lewis said his department hasn’t had any surge of officers leaving, but he can’t remember how long it’s been since the department has been fully staffed. It currently has one hire attending the police academy and will be hiring another officer soon.

“One of the challenges for us being a smaller agency … it puts a lot of strain on resources because of the training involved and making sure the officers are up to speed and have everything they need,” Lewis said.

“That just takes a lot of time and energy and compounds the workload for all of us,” Lewis said.

Losing one or two officers is a significant number for his department, Lewis said, whether to a larger agency or one that pays more money or offers a take-home car.

“It’s an open market,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for qualified candidates to pick or choose where they want to go, because there’s a lot of agencies that are hiring.”

But there are not a lot of applicants, Lewis said.

Sagadahoc County

Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said the sheriff ’s department is made up of a very seasoned workforce and there isn’t a lot of entry-level turnover. Still he has observed a dwindling applicant pool too. At the end of last year, he was looking to fill a lieutenant position which drew about 10 applicants — a decent number.

Still, “it’s pale in comparison to years ago when you would have an opening and get 30 to 40 applicants,” including several academy-trained individuals, he said.

“The numbers are certainly lower and there’s a bunch of reasons for that,” Merry said. “It makes it that much more difficult to find a desirable applicant because a lot of younger people today have things in their background that preclude them from being a police officer or getting hired, and I think that’s a generational thing that we’re beginning to see.”

To help lure eligible candidates, “You try to look at the compensation package and is there any way you can (get) individuals to join your department,” Merry said.

That could include paying off college debt, increasing salaries or offering a signing bonus.

“I think there’s a lot of reasons as to why individuals aren’t wanting to become police officers today,” Merry said. “I think more and more, people value their time and find this is a 24/7 job. Someone has to work when everyone else is home asleep and finding those people is becoming more and more challenging.”

Lewis said despite the challenges involved, serving as a law enforcement officer remains, in his view, one of the most honorable positions in a community or in the world today.

“It is definitely a challenging and rewarding career where you have the ability to affect more lives on a daily basis than any other,” he said.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

$5,000 bonus

• THE BRUNSWICK Police Department is now offering a $5,000 signing bonus to certified officers. They get $2,500 when they sign on and another $2,500 a year later.