Five New Police Officers Join Haverhill Force

New Haverhill police patrolmen, left to right, are: Allan Marshall, Justin Graham, Kevin Billings, Kevin O’Brien and Nicole Richards.

Five new officers are joining the Haverhill police force, filling prior vacancies and bringing the total number of patrolmen to 72—the highest number in seven years, according to Mayor James J. Fiorentini.

Fiorentini last week swore in the new recruits in a ceremony in Theodore A. Pelosi Jr. City Council Chambers. They are Allan Marshall, Justin Graham, Kevin Billings, Kevin O’Brien and Nicole Richards.

Richards has already completed training and is working, while the others will report to the police academy for seven months and are expected to be on the street by late fall, Fiorentini said.

3 thoughts on “Five New Police Officers Join Haverhill Force

  1. that is the wayy things normally work in public safety unless officers are transferring in from another jurisdiction. They can’t attend the academy unless they have been hired by a community.

  2. Not that I would EVER question the trustworthiness of mayor Taxman and his unwavering commitment to look out for the best interests of Haverhill taxpayers……But what’s going on here?
    Why are the officers being sworn in and hired ‘before’ they complete their academy training??
    Are Haverhill taxpayers now paying them for the next 7 months before they officially begin working for the city???

    • Jack,

      This is normal. Depending on the municipality, some actually make the recruits pay the costs of the academy back (not sure about Haverhill). I don’t know if they still do it, but back in the day, if you had aspirations, you could “self-sponsor” with a Chiefs letter and pay your own way to get certified in MA. MA certification is arguably one of the best in the country (abet the academy is long), and with the exception of The NYPD and LAPD, certification is met with reciprocity (usually supplemented just a state law package outside of MA) in almost all states. Otherwise, it is most likely budgeted, which in the bigger picture, isn’t a lot of cash – The real cash cow is retirement/healthcare/OPEB costs that is crushing the system. With a $15K special treatment for unions by way political campaign contributions, don’t expect this paradigm to change in the immediate future.