Mayor Angela R. Garretson and Hillside Police Department Chief Vincent Ricciardi welcomed 17 new police department members to the Township. This second class of new recruits is part of the Department’s hiring plan to add 25 new police officers to the patrol division which began in 2014.
The class of recruits reflects the community that they will serve. Almost half of these officers are bilingual, about a third female, and over 50% minority. It also includes a military veteran,
former dispatcher, an auxiliary police officer, several criminal justice majors, and a current police officer.
“I congratulate the new class of recruits for answering the call to join a force of dedicated law enforcement professionals. They will help to shape our department’s future,” said Mayor Garretson. “We look forward to training this multidimensional class and providing them with the resources they need to continue to provide the safety that our residents deserve.”
The November class of recruits will benefit from new training opportunities initiated this year as part of Mayor Garretson’s smart township initiative that was implemented by newly appointed Police Chief Vincent Ricciardi. Under that program, a state of the art training room facility has been created for the recruits with the technology and resources to support our department and used by all police personnel.
During the five-month police academy, recruits will learn all applicable laws and protocols for being a Hillside Police Officer. In addition to physical training, they will receive instruction in procedural justice, crisis intervention and de-escalation, use of force, community building and critical thinking.
This will be the largest group ever hired at one time by the Hillside Police Department. Sixteen of the new officers will begin the police academy on November 8th; the seventeenth officer is a trained police officer who will be on patrol after agency training at Hillside PD.
These appointments will replace officers who have retired or separated from the department.