Following a recent work session where concerns were presented from the community that the Jamestown Police Department is struggling to hire police officers, Dolce explained that the city is doing everything it can to find additional police officers.

“I think everything is being done that can be done,” he said. “They have to go through the process. I know that there are candidates that are currently in the process of taking the courses, passing what they need to pass, going through the academy. It just takes time, and it’s not something that can be sped up. It’s going to take time to get those positions.”

Dolce explained that while one way to recruit additional officers is by recruiting young people for the Police Academy, the process of young recruitments completing coursework, being trained, passing the civil service test and finalizing the process of young officers joining the Jamestown Police Department can take a “lot of time.”

While recruiting additional police officers may require more time, Dolce suggested that the city and the police department could still discuss the implementation of the gun violence initiatives and nuisance strategies that have been discussed over the past several months.

Pictured, from left, are Catherine Maycock, city comptroller, Elliot Raimondo, corporation counsel, Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Coon, City Council President Anthony Dolce, R-Ward II, and Tim O’Dell, Department of Development grant manager. P-J photo by Timothy Frudd

Dolce said that Police Chief Timothy Jackson is going to “try his best” to address nuisance issues and gun violence as the spring and summer months approach. He also expressed hope that the department could hire more officers in the coming months.

“Hopefully in the next few months by the time the weather does get nice, we will have some other officers on duty, but it just takes time.”

In addition to explaining the process of hiring more police officers, Dolce highlighted the potential dangers of not having every position filled at the police department.

“If we’re understaffed, there’s no specific targeted units that can answer,” he said. “They have to prioritize, so in other words, those nuisance calls might have to take a backseat.”

Dolce told The Post-Journal that another potential issue is that if the police department becomes “too thin,” potential injuries could affect the effective operation of the department as well as overtime costs for the city.

“The more we can get going as soon as we can, the more effective the department can run,” he said.

Asked whether the council would consider another avenue for hiring a nuisance officer, Dolce said he was not sure how a contract would work with someone from a different city department performing duties as a nuisance officer.

“That would be something that would probably have to be discussed with union membership and given the OK,” he said. “That is something that if people are doing out of their prospective units or their prospective job descriptions, that would have to be looked at through a contractual situation. In other words, like taking someone from the DOD and having them go on nuisance calls, it’s similar to having someone from a different department doing work from another unit. You have to kind of look at that, is it allowed and if not, is there a way to effectively and safely be able to do that. That’s something that would have to be discussed and talked about.”