BEACON FALLS — A recent agreement between the town and the police union will help accomplish the goal of having two officers on duty for each shift, officials say.
The town and police union came to an agreement late last year to allow part-time officers to work all shifts, according to First Selectman Christopher Bielik.
The town hired a new part-time officer in October and hopes to hire another one next month. It also is looking to hire a part-time officer to help out with gaps in the midnight shift.
Beacon Falls has a resident state trooper, three full-time officers and 10 part-time officers, Bielik said. The resident trooper and full-time officer are usually on duty during the day, but now a part-time officer can fill holes in coverage if one is out. At night, the town has at least one officer, with state police Troop I backing them up.
Bielik said the town is trying to be less reliant on the state trooper who patrols Route 8 and maximize the number of shifts covered by the town’s own police force.
“We are always looking to augment the available manpower that we have,” Bielik said. “We’ve had this situation going on for as long as I’ve been aware of how our coverage works. Before we reached the agreement, it was normal for the day shift to be covered by the resident trooper only.”
Part-time officers are paid $28 an hour, Bielik said, which is low in comparison to most of the surrounding towns, but based on the contractual pay scale for full-time officers.
In the past, the town didn’t have the resources to staff two officers during the day and evening shifts, according to Resident State Trooper Humberto Henriques, leaving him to work the day shift alone.
With both the town and volume of calls growing, there’s a need for more officers, Bielik said. It’s also an issue of officer safety, he said.
Last year, Beacon Falls police responded to 7,409 calls for service, Henriques said.
He said there has been a lot of activity lately with the heroin epidemic and related crimes like petty larcenies, car break-ins and burglaries. Last summer, there were three drug overdoses, Henriques said.
He said police are trying to take a more proactive approach in town.
“We’re trying to do more with less,” he said.
