Police Tests Given For Posts Of Detective And Sergeant

By Andrew Gorosko

The police department has given tests to several applicants among department members for two key posts within the 47-member organization — the position of detective and the post of sergeant.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said this week that the department recently administered the written test for the position of detective and also gave the written test and the oral test for the post of sergeant. The detective’s testing process does not include an oral test, the police chief said.

The detective’s post has been vacant for more than a year, following Michael McGowan’s departure from the detective division to return to the department’s patrol unit. Officer McGowan, however, occasionally filled in as a detective during the past year.

The detective unit is comprised of seven people: a detective sergeant who works as a supervisor, three detectives, two school resource officers, and one youth officer. The detective sergeant also would supervise the local officer who works as an undercover agent with the state police’s statewide narcotics task force, at those times when the town police department has a person working in that capacity.

The police department currently has seven sergeants, including the detective sergeant and six patrol sergeants.

The eighth sergeant to be chosen by the Police Commission would become a patrol sergeant, according to Chief Kehoe.

One of the current sergeants would then be selected to work as the department’s administrative sergeant. The administrative sergeant’s post has been approved by the Police Commission, but has never been filled.

Chief Kehoe said that six police department members took the two tests for the position of sergeant, and that three people took the test for the detective’s post. The chief noted that among those who took the tests, two individuals took the exams for both sergeant and detective. The police chief declined to disclose the identities of the officers who took the tests.

To take the tests for sergeant and detective, applicants must have served at least five years with the town police department.

The police chief noted that the patrol unit of the police department is currently not fully staffed, resulting in a delay in filling the posts.

Currently, there four officers undergoing field training, one officer in the police academy, and one officer serving as a military reservist in Iraq, Chief Kehoe said.

Chief Kehoe said he expects to have the administrative sergeant’s post filled “within several months.” That person would aid the departments’ two lieutenants and also supervise the department’s traffic enforcement unit, among other tasks, he said.

Having a person serve as administrative sergeant represents an organizational change intended to have the police department operate more efficiently, he said.

Chief Kehoe noted that the police department’s relatively small size, compared to other departments, results in infrequent opportunities for its’ members advancement, but the organization does have a range of specialties which its members may pursue.