Through
three requests, Medford Police Department is seeking the ability to
prioritize hiring of Civil Service Officers who are bilingual in English
and either Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole.
Furthering
its commitment to community policing and to increasing diversity among
city staff, the Medford Police Department is pursuing the ability to
prioritize hiring of bilingual officers. This month, the department
petitioned the State’s Executive Office of Administration and Finance
for the ability to prioritize hiring officers on the Civil Service list
who speak more than one language. In his request letter, Police Chief
Jack Buckley requested requisitions to allow the department to select
officers who self-identify as speaking both English and at least one of
the following languages: Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. The
department hopes to prioritize hiring 3 bilingual officers in each of
the three languages, if approved by the State.
Typically,
when police departments hire new officers from a Civil Service list,
they are given a list from the State based on highest test scores for
the Civil Service Exam. Through “Selective Certification,” departments
are provided with a Civil Service list that prioritizes eligible
officers based on an identified, specialized and job-related
qualification.
“It
is essential that police officers have the ability to effectively
communicate with persons in need to effectively assess emergency
situations, and communicate with empathy and understanding,” said Chief
Buckley. “To be able to do so effectively and efficiently, we must have
the ability to communicate in the various languages most commonly spoken
within our community.”
“Across
city government, we made a commitment to increase diversity among our
staff and our boards and commissions. We have made significant progress
thanks to the work of Neil Osborne and the Office of Diversity and Human
Resources. Chief Buckley has not only echoed that commitment but has
been actively working to do the same,” said Mayor Lungo-Koehn. “I am
hopeful that the State will consider the Chief’s request favorably and
that we will be able to move forward with hiring additional bilingual
officers for the Medford Police Department.”
“We
will continue to explore every available avenue to ensure our police
department looks like, talks like and listens to our residents in a way
that reflects and respects our rich cultural diversity,” said Neil
Osborne, Director of the City’s Office of Diversity and Human Resources.
The requests are currently under consideration by the State.
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