Chicopee Police Department to hire 13 new officers to address significant staff shortage
Posted May 11, 2021
CHICOPEE – Faced with multiple retirements and vacancies on the Police Department, the city is working to hire 13 new police officers.
The department is significantly short personnel. There are currently 90 patrol officers on staff and city regulations allow up to 120 on the force, Police Lt. Holly Davis said.
“The shortage is not causing any safety issues,” she said. “We are filling all of our beats and units.”
The fact that the police department is allowed 120 officers makes the shortage looks worse than it is, since the force is rarely expected to be that large. The complement of patrol officers was increased several years ago to allow candidates to be hired in anticipation of senior officers retiring so the two can overlap while the new officers are in training.
LENOX â The townâs Police Department could be in a position to add a 10th full-time officer in the coming year â the first expansion in over 25 years.
The Finance Committee voiced support recently for a proposed 10 percent increase in the departmentâs budget for fiscal 2022. The additional $122,000 would help pay for another officer, in part to help handle an upsurge in criminal activity within the north end commercial district, where a few low-cost motels are located on the east side of Pittsfield Road (Route 7/20).
The new officer would free up more time for Officer Tyler Bosworth, the departmentâs investigator, to handle cumbersome cases, said Police Chief Stephen OâBrien.
Hampden may use casino mitigation funds to address traffic concerns
Updated Jan 27, 2021;
HAMPDEN When MGM Resorts International first laid its chips on the table about building a Springfield casino, surrounding communities sought funding to mitigate its impact. While some were approved to eventually be allocated such funds, Hampden’s Select Board members at the time walked away empty-handed or so they thought.
More than four years later, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission reached out to the town’s Select Board and asked what the community had planned for its $100,000 worth of mitigation funds, said Select Board Chair Donald Davenport.
“Apparently, they neglected to notify us,” said Davenport.