August 14th the Mansfield police department swore in five new police officers, bringing their total staffing up to 76.
The new hires are a mixture of home-grown and transplants. Paul Webb is the son of Paul and Michelle Webb, a retired Mansfield firefighter and police captain respectively. Webb, along with Shane Gess, Michael Haines, Charles Hamilton, and James Reed were administered the oath of office by Safety-Service Director Lori Cope.
Two of the officers are already Ohio Peace Officer Training Certified (OPOTC) and will begin their three months of field training with an experienced officer immediately. The remaining three will complete OPOTC before beginning their three months of field training.
This increase will have a measurable impact on the community. Chief of Police Dino Sgambellone stated, “Increasing staffing is good for the safety of the community, but it’s also good for the safety of the officers.”
The police department is authorized to have 102 officers, but funding resulted in staffing as low as 71 before these recent hires. Some programs and services have had to be cut accordingly. Five new officers is incremental progress toward restoring prior levels of service.
“Officers have done a very good job of delivering good customer service with the resources we have,” said Sgambellone. “I really want to thank the community for the support they continue to give the police department.”