With the hiring of a new patrol officer, Rindge has filled its roster, and expects to be fully staffed after new officers complete their academy and field training in October.
Patrol Officer Samuel Kelley was sworn in during a Select Board meeting on Wednesday. Kelley, a resident of Manchester, left a career as a construction laborer for police work, and said it’s a field that has always interested him.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It just seemed like the stars aligned in this moment,” Kelley said.
Kelley received a bachelor’s degree in justice studies from Southern New Hampshire University in 2015, while working his previous career, but this will be his first job in policing.
Kelley said he was attracted to working in a small community and was familiar with Rindge.
“The aspect of community policing was interesting to me,” Kelley said. “It’s something different every day, and to be able to do something where you are of service to someone.”
Kelley is currently doing field training and plans to attend the police academy in June, and be fully certified and trained by October.
When not at work, Kelley enjoys playing soccer, riding his motorcycle and being outdoors.
With a second officer currently being certified, Chief Rachel Malynowski said Kelley’s hire fills the eighth slot in the department. While the department is approved for up to nine officers, Malynowski said the department agreed to forego fulfilling the ninth position this year in order to boost wages for the current officers. The department plans to fill the ninth position immediately in 2024.
Malynowski said October will be the first time the department has had a full roster in quite some time, and that the department has struggled to keep staff, with the last calander year where a full roster was kept intact was 2013.
“My intent is that that is a thing of the past,” Malynowski said. “Staffing and retention are our No. 1 priorities right now.”
The department has worked to increase pay, to the point where Malynowski said the town is “at least in the same ballfield” as neighboring departments, which allow for larger candidate pools and for a selection of candidates who are the best fit for the department.
Malynowski said the town intends to start advertising for a ninth officer in the fall of 2023, with the intent that a new hire could start as soon as Jan. 1.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.