City Police Boost Recruitment Drive

By Theodore A. Driscoll, Courant Staff Writer

Hartford police Wednesday stepeed up a recruitment drive to solicit applicants for a new training class that will begin in mid-February.

The deadline for applications in November 9.

The recruiting campaign will be short because "we are only looking for a few people," Chief Bernard R. Sullivan said. There will be 15 to 20 people in the new class.

Several applicants already have notified the city's Personnel Department they are interested, "so we'll quickly have 200 or 250 applicants," said Capt. James Fennell, who is coordinating the recruiting drive.

In the last training class, which graduated May 18 from the local police training academy, charges were raised that the department selected unqualified trainees to meet minority hiring goals. Of the 52 members of that class, 16 were black, 16 Hispanic and 11 women.

the complaints prompted an inquiry by the Municipal Police Training council, which certifies police training schools in Connecticut. The inquiry found nothing improver, however, and Sullivan has insisted steadfastly that those recruits were as qualified as others in the past.

During the current recruiting effort, the depatement will continue to pursue its affirmative action goal—to have membership reflect the 55 percent minority population in the city, Sullivan has said.

With the graduation of the last class of recruits, the department reached its authorized strength of 500 sworn officers for the first time since 1969. Normal attrition usually requires adding between 10 to 20 new officers each year to make up for those who retire or leave for other reasons, Fennell said.

Fennell said recruiting for the new class will be done through the Urban League, the NAACP, La Casa de Puerto Rico and at other social action groups.

The five officers working with him on the recruitment effort are Sgt. Barbara Moriarty, Sgt. James Berry and officers Wilfredo Rivera, Robert Alfaro and Donald Chafin.

People interested in applying can bet the forms either at the police station or from the Personnel Department in City Hall.