Added manpower

The hiring of two new officers has brought the Middlesex Police Department back to its full staffing number and could lead to a Resource Officer being on-hand again in borough schools.

New probationary officers Brandon Stout and David Wilczynski were sworn-in at the Borough Council’s Tuesday, Dec. 19 meeting. Both new hires have experience as a corrections officer. Their hirings put the MPD at 32 officers.

Due to attrition and retirements, the police force has not been at that staffing level in years. The additional officers mean the MPD could potentially return a School Resource Officer to district duty as well as devoting more police time to tasks such as traffic safety.

Police Chief Matt Geist said in an interview with Inside – Middlesex that he’s had preliminary discussions about reinstating the SRO position with the borough’s school superintendent. Nothing has yet been finalized, but the chief is optimistic that position will again be filled.

“They’ve been very positive,” Geist said of the SRO talks. At the same time, Geist said he would respect the Board of Education’s opinion if it were to conclude it does not want a Resource Officer.

The MPD’s Resource Officer would be stationed primarily at Middlesex High and spend their work day in the school district. The position has not been filled in recent years due to reduced police staffing.

Security would be enhanced by having an officer at MHS, but Geist sees other benefits. The officer would also spend time at other schools speaking about topics such as drug awareness.

Along with boosting security and instructing in certain topics, Geist sees the position as building rapport between the police and school community.

“It helps build trust,” Geist said. “With all of the things going on in the world, police officers need to work on that every day.”

“The most effective SRO’s are truly part of the schools,” he added. “If they’re there for only an hour every day, that’s just a visitor.”

The SRO would do other police duties during the summer and times when schools are not in session. Although the SRO position is currently unstaffed, Geist said patrol officers are encouraged to stop in borough schools regularly and do so.

The two new officers bring the MPD back to a staffing level that was established in 1976. At one point since then, Geist said, the police force was down to 23 officers.

“You want to have proper coverage to provide services,” he said. “You want an active, visible patrol force. There’s no gage to what we stop from happening by being active and visible. Those are the things that suffer when manpower is down.”

Geist noted that there were about 1,000 rescue squad calls in 2022, matters that also require a police response. Domestic violence calls answered by police can be time-consuming. Those calls can sometimes tie up an officer for four to six hours due to the related paperwork.

Severe storms can also stress a police department’s manpower. Geist said there’s no way to predict the consequences caused by extensive rain and/or wind. During the heavy rains and flooding of Dec. 17-18, Middlesex police carried out several rescues of motorists stranded in flood water.

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