Every day, in every city and town across the country, police officers are performing vital services that help make our communities safer. And for the better part of each day, the Old Saybrook Police Department (OSPD) is the only municipal government agency open 24/7 to serve the citizens and visitors of our community. As a resident of Old Saybrook, I am grateful to have a police department and police commission that is committed to excellence.

As you’ve likely read, police across the country are being pressed to their limit as the stresses of the job result in turnover rates that the profession has not previously seen. In response, Police Chief Michael Spera prepared a very comprehensive and candid report on turnover in the OSPD.

I applaud the Old Saybrook Police Commission for quickly voting to adopt one of the key recommendations resulting from the review, specifically a budget-neutral compensation enhancement that recognizes prior (police) work experience, something the corporate world does routinely! This swift action directly resulted in a highly skilled candidate pool for OSPD’s immediate hiring consideration.

It’s critical that we continue to attract officers who effectively relate face-to-face with our community. Whether it’s our officers on bikes, officers collecting for the foodbank, Chief Spera’s neighborhood outreach, the OSPD is “all in” on Old Saybrook. And nowhere has it been more evident than over the last 17 months where, under the auspices of our Police Commission, Chief Spera, the OSPD, and the Connecticut River Area Health District established the Drive-Through COVID 19 Testing and Vaccine Clinic where more than 27,000 vaccines were delivered to town and shoreline residents!

I thank the OSPD and our Old Saybrook Police Commission who work together to make Old Saybrook a wonderful place to live.

Alan Schwarz

Old Saybrook