Mayor to promote four new police sergeants

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that the city has begun the necessary steps to promote four Somerville police officers to the rank of sergeant.  The candidates for interview and final selection will be drawn from the current civil service list of experienced officers who have passed the state‚Äôs sergeant exam.

   Currently, there are only 11 sergeants in the department ‚Äì a source of contention among some union officials, a city ordinance requires there be 18.
   ‚ÄúWe are continuing the process of reorganizing the police department‚Äôs command structure to conform to the recommendations of the Somerville Police Advisory Group, and to prepare the Department for a transition to a more effective and efficient community-based policing model,‚Äù said Curtatone.  ‚ÄúWhen we went through a round of promotions to Lieutenant at the end of FY2006 there was no immediate need to backfill some of the vacated sergeant slots, but the time has now come to push on with the overall reorganization plan.  Start to finish, the selection process should take about four to five weeks.‚Äù
   The Somerville Police Superior Officers Association hailed the city‚Äôs move as timely and necessary.   ‚ÄúWe‚Äôre very happy to see the city moving on these promotions,‚Äù said union spokesman Capt. Charles Femino in a prepared statement. ‚ÄúOur membership has made clear that we will work with the city to adopt the Advisory Group‚Äôs recommendations as long as the city remains committed to adequate staffing and command structure.  This is clear evidence that the City isn‚Äôt just shifting to a community policing approach. They‚Äôre also building up the ranks of a department depleted during the fiscal crisis of the past few years.‚Äù
   Curtatone has hired seven new police officers since July, including three new officers who will enter the police academy later this month.  ‚ÄúWe‚Äôre especially pleased that all of our new hires this year bring either Spanish or Haitian Creole language skills to the job,‚Äù Curtatone said.  The city plans to hire four more officers by June 30 of 2007, bringing the total of new patrol officers to eleven.