Retirements thin the ranks at Norwich police department
An exodus of veteran police officers is thinning the ranks at the Norwich police department at a time when departments are struggling with recruitment and retention.
At least seven officers have retired or are planning to retire this year from Norwich.
Chief Patrick Daley attributes the departures to the recent signing of a new contract that provides for an average of a 5% raise for the year that went by without a contract. The associated retroactive checks and boosts to pension payments made for an attractive time to hang up the gun and badge.
The group that recently retired includes Deputy Chief Corey Poore, Lt. Christopher Merrill, Sgt. Harrison Formiglio and Detective Jason Calouro. Three more officers, including a court officer and detective, have submitted retirement paperwork and plan to be gone before year’s end.
The end result is not only a department down by 10 officers from its authorized strength of 88 but also a loss of decades of experience in the city. Each of the retirees has spent at least 20 years in policing.
“It’s a challenge when you lose that much experience and institutional knowledge and street knowledge and knowledge of the character of Norwich and the characters in Norwich. You don’t replace that overnight,” Daley said.
“These are men and women that are very, very invested in the police department. It’s going to be challenging going forward,” he said.
Daley is also the chairman of the board of directors of the Norwich-based Law Enforcement Council of Connecticut, the group that regularly hosts regional entry exams for eastern Connecticut police departments. The group has advertisements for open positions at nearly every southeastern Connecticut police department, and Daley said the number of people applying is down sharply from years past.
Statistics nationally show the law enforcement profession has not recovered from steep drops associated with the pandemic and scrutiny following protests against police after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in 2020. A survey conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum shows that numbers started going up last year but have not recovered to pre-2020 numbers.
That same survey shows that while small and medium departments had more sworn officers than they did in January 2020, large departments with more than 50 officers are still more than 5% below their staffing levels from 2020, the Associated Press reported.
Daley said that translates into a “buyers market” for people entering the law enforcement field.
In New London, where Captain Matthew Galante recently announced his plans to retire, Chief Brian Wright said the current climate has made law enforcement a less attractive career choice for many.
“Potential candidates often have concerns about the risks associated with the job, public perception, and the high standards required for entry. Additionally, the rigorous training and certification processes can be daunting,” Wright said in an email.
In addition, Wright said some young officers find the demands of the job overwhelming, leading to burnout and early exits from the force.
“The stress of the job, coupled with the need for continuous professional development and the pressures of maintaining a work-life balance, contributes to high turnover rates,” he said.
The New London Police Department has 67 sworn officers and a mandated strength of at least 80 officers. Like Norwich, it is constantly in hiring mode and will have a deputy chief to hire and two open captain positions to fill.
Norwich Police Detective Steven Callender, president of the Norwich police union, said he hopes the same contract that led to officer retirements at his department will lead to new recruits. Sometimes, he said, it comes down to who has the more attractive compensation packages.
Police departments, Callender said, are being forced to get creative with benefit packages and offering things like take home vehicles and shorter work weeks. Some departments offer retirement benefits after 25 years and some after 20.
“We have to try and keep up with other departments,” he said.
The new contract in Norwich provides raises that start at 2.5% this year, 3.25% next year and 3% raises through fiscal year 2027-28. It boosts starting pay for a new hire this year to $67,650 ― $74,415 after one year ― to $74,102 in the last year of the contract.
Another incentive of the new contract, Callender said, is a quicker rise in the pay scale, or what are known as “steps“ at the department. When it used to take 12 years to reach the step 6 and maximum pay for a patrol officer, it now takes eight years. An officer can earn $99,562 after eight years and even higher amounts with promotions.
The New London police union is currently in negotiations for a new contract. Starting pay in New London, according to online job postings, starts at $68,832. The most recent contract in New London expired on June 30.
New London police union President Brian Laurie said the union and the city have been collectively working “with the common goal of making the New London Police Department one of the more sought out agencies in the state.”
“By working together to make a standout contract, this will not only increase recruitment of new Officers but more importantly it will help retain our current Officers,” Laurie said in an email. “In years past the New London police department has unfortunately lost dozens of officers to other departments and earlier than expected retirements. We are working with the City to reverse that trend by making the New London police department more desirable for current and future officers.“
He declined to discuss specifics of the contract while negotiations were ongoing.
Both Wright and Daley said their respective departments will continue to boost outreach and recruitment efforts in the ongoing search for new officers.
g.smith@theday.com
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