New Kensington beefs up police department, hires 3 full-time officers

New Kensington officials are a step closer to one of their community policing goals: making officers more visible to residents.

“People notice when our officers are visible and are out in the community, which we really like them to be,” said Mayor Tom Guzzo. “It’s important for us to get to the staffing numbers that we need.”

The addition of three new officers, they hope, will make an impact on that visibility.

“On-the-field training usually takes four to six weeks. All three of these guys were officers at other local agencies,” said police Chief Bob Deringer.

Council held a special meeting Monday afternoon and unanimously voted to hire full-time officers Alan Zulka, Dante Martinez and Nathaniel Cochran.

A list of seven applicants was whittled down to five candidates and approved March 10 by the city’s Civil Service Commission, Deringer said.

The new hires are expected to begin training in mid-April.

Guzzo said the addition of the three officers will bring the department’s roster to 24.

City officials are authorized to hire up to 27 officers to patrol the city of about 12,000 residents.

The hirings are conditional, with each officer required to pass physical and psychological examinations.

The new officers will be paid a starting annual salary of $55,194, according to Guzzo.

Deringer said he’s pleased to have a larger force.

“I’m thankful to council,” he said. “We’ve been short staffed.”

The department typically has three to six officers patrolling on any given shift.

Cochran currently is employed by Somerset Borough, Zulka works in Frazer, and Martinez is with the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department.