SOUTHWICK – Chief of Police Kevin Bishop met with the Select Board this week to discuss the staffing levels that he’s preparing for in the near future for the Southwick Police Department.
Southwick Chief of Police Kevin Bishop. (WNG File Photo)
Bishop informed the Select Board that it’s expected in March of 2020 that a full-time officer in his department will be retiring as that officer has reached his or her mandatory retirement age.
As a result, Bishop wants to make sure he isn’t down an officer and has his staff filled. In years past, the department was sometimes down an officer due to a retirement and could have forced them to allow overtime for the other full-time officers.
“If we don’t do it at this point in time, we’re looking at filling those shifts with overtime,” said Bishop.
Select Board Chairman Joe Deedy agreed with Bishop that it’s beneficial to get ready now for that retirement and make sure the department will have a full staff.
“Let’s look ahead, it’s coming,” said Deedy. “Let’s get in front of it.”
In an effort to get ahead of the staffing change, Bishop is hoping to send one of the reserve officer’s on the department to a full-time police academy in June. From there, the officer will have 23 weeks to graduate and become the full-time officer in the department to fill the staff.
