PD adopts ‘competitive’ policies aimed at rebuilding police force

NEW HAVEN — The bottom line is that the Police Department needs to be more competitive in recruiting and keeping officers, according to the chief.

To that end, the Board of Police Commissioners has approved new policies for reinstating and hiring officers to become part of the New Haven Police Department, changing and clarifying practices as the department works to rebuild

Lt. David Zannelli, the head of the department’s internal affairs and background division, told the commission that the new policy for reinstating officers clarified that officers need to return to the department within one year of leaving the department to be reinstated at the same

rank and rate of pay.

If they seek to come back after a longer time away, they will be treated like a new hire, he said.

The department saw a number of officers leave in recent years amid uncertainty over the contract between the city and Elm City Local, the union that represents officers. Concerns among officers have been about rates of pay and retirement benefits.

The commission unanimously approved General Order 2.14, “Reinstatement of Officers Separated from Service,” and General Order 2.15, “New Hire Policy,” at its most recent meeting.

Police Chief Otoniel Reyes said it was important to more clearly establish a process for rehiring officers, which traditionally had been governed at the discretion of the chief.

“So we now have a definitive process before you that is legally defensible and, more importantly, is fair, and will stand the test of time regardless of who our successors are in our respective positions,” said Reyes. “I’m happy with the work that was done with this and think it will lead to more consistent outcomes.”

The new hire policy, Reyes said, now reflects a separate track for hiring certified officers from other departments. It includes a separate civil service eligibility list for hiring officers with existing certifications, both within Connecticut and from other states.

“One of the challenges that we have, in terms of recruitment and retention, is that we have been sort of behind the eight ball in our ability to hire laterals — more clearly, officers from other departments that are already certified, and are able to easily transfer into our department with a minimal process,” said Reyes. “We had that process intertwined with our regular hires.”

Reyes said the new, streamlined process would aid the department in attracting officers with existing certifications, changing the dynamic as it seeks to bring in more staff.

Before a new agreement was settled in August 2019 and approved by the Board of Alders the following month, the contract had lapsed for roughly three years.

As of August 31, there were 64 unfilled positions in the department, according to the most recent monthly budget update posted on the city website. The department’s total of sworn members is 406, according to budget documents.

“This is going to make us much more competitive in the recruitment process,” Reyes said.

“We have been on the opposite side of this, where we have had many people who will leave to go to other departments, for obvious contractual issues in recent years. But we also have not been the benefactor of the opposite (to that dynamic), because our process (has been) a lot more onerous,” said Reyes.

“This really just about bifurcating and separating this, and allowing us to be much more competitive in this area,” he said.

Reyes its force.