WE’RE BACK! The Mayor, Village Board, and Chief of Police are pleased and excited to announce that, 16 months after changes to staffing and police coverage took effect, the Newark Police Department has returned to 24-hour coverage as of October 28th.
Since July 2023 when the Police Department shifted to 20 hour coverage (reference the below press release), NPD has had seven officers complete the police academy and we accepted a lateral transfer of an experienced officer. Four of the newest officers have just completed their field training and are now part of our shift coverage while we have one other officer just starting his field training.
We are excited since the additions to our staffing will not only allow us to provide round-the-clock protection to the citizens of Newark again, but will also allow us to become more proactive in addressing the quality of life issues throughout the Village.
Mayor Jonathan Taylor: “We are thrilled to have our Police Department returning to 24-hour coverage in the village. We are thankful for the long hours our officers worked, their dedication, and their commitment to our community. We would also like to thank their families as we worked through our challenges over the last 16 months. Thank you to Chief Martin for his incredible leadership, which allowed us to build our department through the nationwide police staffing crisis. In addition, we are looking forward to having seven new officers on our force that are already playing an integral role in providing public safety today and for years to come.”
Newark Police Commissioner Stu Blodgett: “This is great news for the village residents and police department. Thanks to Chief Martin’s leadership, we were able to provide round the clock 24-hour coverage during this staffing shortage. However, it couldn’t have happened without the assistance of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, the NY State Police, our own part time officers and the members of the Newark Police Department who logged many hours of overtime to give the residents the police coverage, safety and quality of life this department has always delivered for many years. “
Chief Richard Martin: “We cannot thank the New York State Police and Wayne County Sheriff’s Office enough for all of their assistance in covering those four hours each night during this time. We sincerely appreciate their service to our citizens during a time when they were also dealing with staffing issues. I also cannot emphasize enough the amount of extra duty that our own officers worked just to cover the 20 hours per day.”
