OCEAN CITY — The debate over bolstering the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) continued this week with a discussion of expanding the public safety aide (PSA) program.
Over the last few weeks, the Mayor and Council and the OCPD command staff have been discussing how best to grow the police department’s ranks. Chief Ross Buzzuro requested and gained approval for hiring 10 new full-time police officers and the Mayor and Council have begun work session discussions on how best to fund the additions, which could come at a cost of around $1 million annually.
The need for 10 new full-time officers, 15 actually when replacements for five officers lost to attrition is factored in, is based on a variety of factors including a steady increase in special events and the expansion of the offseason. However, the request is deeply rooted in the steady decline of the once-popular seasonal officer program.
For decades, the OCPD has augmented his workforce with as many as 100 seasonal officers or more in some years. As recently as 2014, there were 646 applicants for the seasonal officer program, but that number declined to just 158 this year. Granted, recruiting efforts were curtailed by COVID-19 last spring and there are other fairly recent societal changes regarding law enforcement, but even in pre-COVID 2019, there were only 200 candidates for the seasonal officer program.
Then there are the PSAs. The OCPD is essentially a three-tiered law enforcement agency, particularly during the season, with the full-time sworn officers at the top, the less-trained and less authorized seasonal officers in the middle and finally the PSAs.
The PSAs are essentially foot soldiers on the Boardwalk and throughout the other densely-populated areas and serve as extra observers for the department. They provide a high degree of visibility and serve as ambassadors for the town and the OCPD, answering questions and directing visitors to services and other amenities.
However, they are generally younger and have less training and experience than the seasonal officers. The PSAs do have the authority to issue municipal citations and they alert the full-time and seasonal officers when they observe illegal activity afoot.
With the need for more full-time sworn officers and the decline of the seasonal officer program, the discussion came around during Monday night’s meeting of possibly augmenting the workforce with even more PSAs. Buzzuro said the PSAs’ responsibilities have increased over the years, but they lack the training, experience and authority to do little more than assist the other officers.
“A few years back we increased their capabilities,” he said. “They can issue citations. They are our extra eyes and ears out there and they are ambassadors. They can take action on the civil side, but they are just not able to do what a police officer can do.”
There has been discussion about changing the PSAs’ title to possibly make it more attractive to potential candidates looking at it as a stepping stone to a larger law enforcement career.
“We’ve talked about changing their title, maybe to public safety officers,” said Councilman Dennis Dare. “They’re wearing uniforms, they are driving around in marked vehicles. I’d like to see them get more training. We need the numbers.”
Councilman Tony DeLuca asked if raising the pay rate might also make it more attractive for potential PSAs. Currently, the starting pay rate is around $12 per hour, or roughly minimum wage.
“Can we talk about a recommendation of their hourly rate?” he said. “They make less than Wal-Mart employees. If we want to attract them, we need to look at that.”
In terms of increased training and potentially increased responsibility, Buzzuro said the department has a tight window to get the new PSAs out on the street.
“We’re limited on training and the amount of time available,” he said. “Most are right out of high school or entering college and we don’t get them until they finish their academic responsibilities. This is nothing new. We’ve been doing this for years.”
Buzzuro cautioned against pushing for more responsibility for the PSAs, pointing out a particularly violent stretch in June as an example of when the temporary assistants could find themselves over their heads.
“When we look at the situations we had on the Boardwalk in June, the PSAs are not trained in self-defense to any degree,” he said. “They are not law enforcement officers. They are hired to give us a helping hand. They are in no way, shape or form police officers.”
Nonetheless, DeLuca pointed out the invaluable service the PSAs provide including their high visibility and their ability to cite violations that often cause negative perceptions for the town.
“It’s a really great program,” he said. “They write citations and they really set the tone on the little things.”
Buzzuro said the department will make every effort to bolster the PSA program, but cautioned the same challenges associated with the seasonal officer program will likely be faced.
“We will hire as many as we possibly can,” he said. “It just comes down to getting the candidates.”
