At a press conference, on February 27, 2018, Mayor Daniel Rivera with Interim Police Chief Roy Vasque recognized seven police recruits that were sworn in as Lawrence Police Officers following their graduation from the Northern Essex Community College Police Academy.
“Having these new officers on the ground is a big deal for our community; it continues the biggest staff increase and diversification of the department in its history,” said Mayor Dan Rivera. “Making our streets safer is a priority, and having seven more new officers on the street will not only help us continue our downward crime trend, but it will ensure faster response times and increase the trust between our police officers and the community.”
The new officers began their 12 week Field Training Program on Monday morning. “I am excited to have these new officers in the Department,” said Interim Police Chief Roy Vasque. “New officers bring up the morale within the department and bring new life into our halls. I look forward to getting to work with them to increase our community policing efforts and keep our streets safe.”
At the Northern Essex Community College Police Academy, all of the graduates completed 900 hours of training over an intensive 24-week program that covered constitutional law, prevention and intervention, community policing, domestic violence, elder abuse, victims’ rights, and other topics. All training took place on the Haverhill Campus except for fire arms training and emergency driving techniques which were held at off-campus locations.
