Politics & Government

Westwood Council Approves Police Promotions Change

College degrees remain a requirement for most ranks, but a waiver will allow longtime officers pursuing a degree to be eligible for promotions until 2015.

Westwood officials approved a new set of rules for police promotions which still require degrees for most ranks, but gives officers hired before 2002 a waiver until 2015 if they're in the process of obtaining a degree.

The approval came down to a 4-3 vote Tuesday night in which council members Peter Grefrath, Ingrid Quinn and Ray Arroyo voted against the ordinance and council members Cindy Waneck, Robert Miller and Jay Sciara, along with tie-breaker Mayor John Birkner, voted in favor of it.

Officials who opposed the ordinance expressed concern over the waiver, which was amended from a window lasting until 2016 to just until 2015, asking why they should give an extension when the degree requirement had been in place since 2002. The waiver will add one potential candidate to the pool when a new lieutenant is selected, according to Miller. 

"We gave the officers ample time to complete their college credits," Quinn said.

Arroyo said he believed the new policy is mostly right, but "the waiver is entirely wrong," adding that he thought it could potentially set the town up as liable for legal damages.

Miller said he valued education, but believed it was important to open the process to as many candidates as possible in order to ensure the best leader is chosen.

Sciara said he believed that experience was important for police and that people should not be punished if life events got in the way of a formal education.

"I strongly believe in experience in life," he said. "You don't need a piece of paper to hang on your wall in your office to say you can lead."

Under the new rules, officers seeking promotions to the ranks of lieutenant, captain, deputy chief and chief will still need a bachelor's degree in order to qualify, excluding those affected by the waiver.

Candidates for promotion to sergeant would not need a degree, but college credits would count equally compared to experience at a rate of 32 credits to three years of experience, under the new rules. Sergeants act as shift supervisors but are not part of the command structure.

The rules also add a process for officers to appeal the ranking of candidates for promotion. Officers would have 10 days to make an appeal to the chief, who would consider them on a case-by-case basis.


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