The Lakewood Police Department is in the process of hiring several new Police Officers to make up for the officers who recently retired from the force, Police Chief Rob Lawson confirms to TLS.Background checks are currently being performed for officers on the RICE list officers as well as on Lateral transfers, the Chief says. The RICE list is comprised of officers laid off from other departments, and lateral transfers are officers transferred from other departments. Recent hires from Lakewood were from both the RICE list and lateral transfers.

Hiring officers off a RICE list, saves a substantial amount of tax payer money Chief Lawson says, as the officers are already trained by the P.T.C. (Police Training Commission), and only require in-house training before hitting the roads.

The Chief would not give a number of how many officers the department will hire, but says he’s hoping to hire several by the end of the year, and several next year to replace those retiring in 2013. In 2014, there will again be a significant wave of retirees due to their contracts expiring.

Recently, the town also hired three Class 2 Officers, which are mainly used for Court security – freeing up full time officers for the roads. The Class 2 Officers are hired for about 20 hours a week.

The Township also recently hired Steve Fugman – Hatzolah’s Shabbos member, as a new Police Dispatcher. 

The current police force stands at 116 officers. TLS.