Do you have an opinion on the staffing and retention issues in the Old Saybrook Police Department (OSPD)? The consulting company charged with conducting a study on the department is looking for your input.

In January, Old Saybrook residents voted to approve the hiring of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to conduct a study of the OSPD’s staffing problem. As a first step, PERF is asking members of the public to share their thoughts, specifically on the department’s pay and benefits, recruitment and hiring practices, retention efforts, promotional processes, and organizational culture.

Interested residents can share their commentary on those topics by emailing their thoughts to oldsaybrook@policeforum.org by May 1. Per a press release, “PERF will analyze the emails it receives for common themes. Respondents will remain anonymous, and absent extraordinary circumstances, PERF will not reply to emails.”

As an independent contractor, PERF is not affiliated with the town or the police department.

The study is only seeking comments related to staffing and retention matters, not complaints of potential employee misconduct. Those complaints can be sent directly to the department by filling out the department’s civilian complaint form. Those instructions are available on the department’s page on the town website.

The idea for the PERF study traces its roots back to a Police Commission meeting in the summer of 2023, where Chief of Police Michael Spera presented his concerns about the department’s staffing levels.

At that time, there were 17 officers on the department roster—well below the 25 authorized officer level the department aims for. Additionally, over the past several years, there has been tremendous turnover in the department.

To remedy the problem, Spera recommended that the town negotiate with the police union to see if proposed incentives like a higher salary or increased benefits would help attract and retain quality officers.

However, before agreeing to the proposal, which First Selectman Carl Fortuna said could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Fortuna said he would like to see a study of the department done to ensure that the proposed incentives would fix the staffing concerns.

In January, residents approved using an appropriation of $98,790 to hire PERF by a 705-74 vote margin at a referendum.

“I am hopeful that we will get to the bottom of why we have an inability to attract and, most importantly, retain police officers. We need to know whether it’s pay and benefits, opportunity, location, or something else. Having this information will help us build a better department of police services for the next 20 years,” Fortuna said.

At the time of the vote, some residents, as well as the department itself, had concerns about the PERF proposal.

Sergeant Ryan Walsh and Master Sergeant Chris DeMarco attended a Board of Finance meeting last December, where they read a letter into the record outlining concerns union members had with the study.

Part of the stated concern was PERF’s proposal to interview officers who had left the department, which the union representatives said seemed like an attack on the department and chief.

Members of the board and Fortuna stated more than once that they did not mean to disrespect the officers or chief but felt the study was needed before making a substantial investment in the department. Since the vote, some officials have pointed out that many of the department’s staffing problems are also affecting police departments across the country.

According to the press release about the survey, PERF was founded in 1976 as an independent research organization that studies controversies in policing.

“PERF strives to advance professionalism in policing and to improve the delivery of police services through the exercise of strong national leadership, public debate of police and criminal justice issues, and research and policy development,” the release stated in part.

Originally, the Board of Selectmen recommended using another firm, while the Police Commission recommended using PERF.

During a Police Commission meeting last month, Chairman Alfred Wilcox outlined why the commission liked PERF’s proposal better: “Because PERF’s proposal comes down to talking with the elected officials of the town as to what they expect, talking with present and former members of the OSPD as to their professional expectations and experiences, and making an assessment as to how all those expectations mesh with each other and reality, focusing especially on the issues of recruitment and retention,” Wilcox said.

The Board of Selectmen did vote to endorse the PERF study at a meeting before the referendum in January.