Darien Police Department Requests 2 New Officers

DARIEN, CT — The Darien Police Department is looking to increase its headcount for the first time in about 35 years.

As part of the department's budget request for fiscal year 2024, Police Chief Donald Anderson is requesting the addition of two new full-time police officers. Anderson and Capt. Alison Hudyma appeared before the Board of Selectmen on Jan. 31 during budget presentations.

At full strength, the department has 51 sworn officers, a number Town Administrator Kate Buch said has not been reached "in a while." There are currently just 45 sworn officers.

Anderson said the force was last increased by one officer in 1987, and the highest number of officers employed at one time in the last few years was 49 "for a very short period of time."

The two new officers would free-up more senior-level officers to handle important tasks; notably, the department's accreditation process and the managing of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests

Anderson said it often takes hours to sift through and redact body camera footage to prepare them for release. Rquests for body camera footage have skyrocketed in the past 10 years, he said.

Another officer would take on the role of a narcotics officer.

As an alternative, Buch said she considered taking the two School Resource Officers back to the department, but "didn't think that was the right thing to do."

She did say Darien should consider asking the Board of Education to reimburse the town for the cost of the SROs, in the same way the town reimburses the school board for the cost of the use of an IT person.

Anderson said the department has evolved under the last four police chiefs.

He said there was a time where an officer was promoted to sergeant and worked at the front desk for the rest of their careers until they were promoted to lieutenant.

"Lieutenants ran the road. Now sergeants run the road," Anderson said, noting that lieutenants are in a little more of an administrative position, leaving sergeants without direct supervision.

"There's nothing more important now in law enforcement and professional police than proper supervision," Anderson said. "I think we can get to an ideal situation where moving forward, I think we're going to be set with our staff. It may not be 40 years until a chief comes back and asks for additional staff, but it shouldn't be in the next decade."

Hudyma said the addition of two new officers would allow the department to respond better to residents, who mostly make traffic complaints. The traffic division hasn't been staffed properly in the last year, she said.

The hirings would also enhance the marine division, which is active in the summer.

"During the summer months, there's two officers out of patrol now staffing the marine division which we need as well," Hudyma said. "I think it would help us get back to our patrol that we need for our community to make them happy and enforce the laws they want us to enforce properly."

First Selectman Monica McNally asked since the department has not been at full strength, how will they add two more spots?

Anderson said that except for the commute, Darien remains a "very desirable" community to work in, and that the officers employed now are here to stay.

"That said, the amount of people who want to enter this profession is not as robust as it once was," Anderson said. In 1983, Anderson said there were 440 applications for one position. Now, there might be 40 applicants for three positions.

He stressed that he's not looking to lower the standards for an officer in the hiring process.

"I'm not looking to take folks who we're not comfortable with here, because I know the quality of officer our town expects and deserves," Anderson said. "I'd rather not fill the spots than try to fill them with people we have any hesitation with."

Town Administrator Kate Buch has recommended an overall budget of $8.8 million for police services, with $4.8 million dedicated to patrol.

The budget anticipates some level of turnover in the department, Buch said.

Also related to police, the Darien Representative Town Meeting recently approved a new 4-year contract with the Darien Police Association.