Del Norte PD hiring

Photo by Patrick Shea The Del Norte Police Department is currently interviewing candidates for officers to help cover the streets.

DEL NORTE — As police departments nationwide face difficulties filling positions, the Del Norte PD is hiring new officers. Police Chief Robert Fresquez has been interviewing candidates while running the show with 12 pins in his broken leg.
According to Sergeant Frank Archuleta, “Nothing gets done without his approval. He [Fresquez] is doing great recovering and still runs the department.”
Archuleta is currently covering Del Norte with two part-time officers, but multiple candidates are in the pipeline to help police the streets.
“It’s a long process,” Archuleta explained. “Hopefully we can get through it and get help because the entire country is short of officers right now.”
The police academy in the San Luis Valley is a year-long program run through Trinidad State Junior College. Called Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy or CLETA, this two-semester program is the bare minimum before a potential officer can begin working in the field.
Accredited by the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (POST), Trinidad State’s program grooms law enforcement personnel to keep a clear head while communicating with basic human behavior principles in mind. If a situation requires action, the training program gives officers the skills to handle it.
Jack Wiley, dean of Instruction for law enforcement training at Trinidad State, said, “I don’t think we have enough officers to meet the demand, be we still have enough students to fill our classes.”
The pass rates at Trinidad State are very high. Officers who earn their CLETA certificates and Basic Law Enforcement Associate of Applied Science degrees often pursue their careers in the San Luis Valley. The training enables rookies to apply for work anywhere in the country. But many Valley officers choose to stay in their communities.
Across the United States, the total number of officers on the beat has dropped by roughly 23,000 since 2013. In 1997, the cop-to-citizen ratio was 2.42 officers for every 1,000 residents. In 2016, the number dropped to 2.17. But the balance between officers and people is not just a number. When veterans retire, years of experience walk out the door. The officer-to-resident number is a question of quality over quantity as well.
The economic turbulence a decade ago sparked hiring freezes in departments across the country, and the funding for many has not recovered. Meanwhile, squad cars and equipment have deteriorated, veterans are gone and new recruits see more earning potential in other professions.
As new law enforcement professionals move through the pipeline and apply to different agencies, they witness pay disparity and targeted recruiting campaigns. In other parts of the country, departments advertise positions in separate communities, right under the nose of agencies also short on staff. Some veterans looking to change jobs receive better offers to keep their current positions because department integrity is essential for success (and recruiting efforts).
In Del Norte, the police department walks the line between local operations and national trends. Police Chief Fresquez is still in charge and is recovering while Sergeant Archuleta maintains order with part-time help while candidates work through the application process to refurbish the force.