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16 months after changing staff and police coverage, The Newark Police Department has returned to 24-hour coverage.

In July 2023, the department shifted to providing 20-hour coverage due to a staffing shortage. Since then, seven officers have completed the police academy with four completing their field training and being added to shift duty. Additionally, the department has accepted a lateral transfer of an experienced officer.

Because of this, as of Monday, the department has returned to round-the-clock coverage for Newark citizens.

“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,“ said Newark Police Commissioner Stu Blodgett.

Due to retirements, injuries, and resignations, the department was operating at 58% capacity in July 2023. This led the department to change how it handled coverage.

“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,” said Mayor Jonathan Taylor.

Firstly, the department changed shifts to allow for overlapping coverage when officers were most needed. During the four hours without police coverage, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office handled calls.

“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,” said Chief Richard Martin.

Secondly, the department planned to hire part-time officers while searching for full-time employees.

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