BRUNSWICK, Maine — Detectives from the Brunswick Police Department are being pulled from their cases one day per week to beef up patrol shifts as the department’s staff numbers dip lower than they have in recent memory.
“Nothing is going to stop,” Brunswick police Cmdr. Mark Waltz said Friday, “but things are going to get less attention. The threshold of what we are going to investigate is going to change, because we won’t have the resources. … Follow-up investigations are probably going to take longer. There just won’t be enough people to do them.”
Between retirements and resignations, by mid-September, the department will include 28 sworn officers, down seven — the equivalent of an entire squad — from a full staff, according to Waltz.
In a renewed effort to boost the roster, for the first time ever, new recruits who have already graduated from a police academy will be offered a signing bonus. Advertisements to appear on Monday will offer candidates who have attended the academy $2,500 upon signing and another $2,500 after the first year, Waltz said.
The bonus is the only way administrators can think of to increase numbers that have lagged for years, likely because of a number of factors that this year became “the perfect storm,” he said.
After a year that saw voluntary and then mandatory overtime to meet the “mandatory minimum” number of officers on patrol, the standard “extra” officer on each shift to perform proactive or preventative work such as speed enforcement just isn’t available.
In addition to detective work, training has been “back-burnered,” and the department’s annual Emergency Vehicle Operations Course, which each October has drawn officers and other emergency personnel from Brunswick and surrounding communities, has been canceled.
Waltz said police departments statewide and around the country are finding it difficult to recruit officers, in part because of the “vilification” of police officers, he said.
“Some of it is justified by actions taken by police officers, absolutely, but more police officers I see, certainly in Maine, do the job because they want to help people,” he said.
Other factors include overnight and weekend shifts typically assigned to new officers, and the general experience of police officers, who Waltz said “are exposed to some of the worst things in life on a regular basis. People decide, I just don’t want to do that.”
Compensation for Brunswick police officers also is a factor. Brunswick officers earn a smaller base salary than officers in similarly-sized “service center” towns, according to a wage survey compiled by the local union, the Brunswick Police Benefit Association.
A starting officer earns $673 per week in Brunswick — an average of 14.4 percent less than in Augusta, South Portland, Topsham, Auburn, Bath, Westbrook, Scarborough, Freeport or Saco — and a full $266 per week less than a starting officer in Biddeford ($939), according to the study.
After 19 years of service, a Brunswick officer earns $911 weekly — still less than any of the other communities except Augusta and Topsham, and $349 less per week than a 19-year officer in Scarborough, according to the study.
Town Manager John Eldridge said Friday that Brunswick’s benefits are significantly better than those in other communities, including the ability to retire after 20 years at 50 percent pay.
Of the communities surveyed, only Westbrook and Scarborough offer a 20-year retirement to their entire department, although other departments offer 25-year retirement at a greater percentage of pay.
“I don’t think too many people go into this field for the money, but last year the state police salaries [were increased] significantly. If someone wants to be in the field and they can go somewhere that pays more, they will,” Waltz said.
Administrators hope the signing bonus will begin to turn things around. Two weeks ago, the department hired a Gardiner officer who Waltz said should be able to fill a shift alone by the end of October. And on Monday, a new recruit with no previous experience started at the academy.
But filling vacancies with officers who must first go to the police academy is problematic, because classes there run only twice per year. Untrained officers who the department must send to the academy would not likely be ready to patrol alone for at least a year, Waltz said.