The 177th Suffolk County Police recruit class will be getting to work one week ahead of schedule to bolster police presence in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Sixty recruits, six of whom are fluent Spanish speakers, will report for duty at their assigned precincts on March 30.
The recruits will form TEC (Together Enforcing Compliance) Teams to perform compliance checks of businesses mandated to close as well as walk foot patrols in downtown areas and parks and remind residents of social distancing suggestions.
“The Suffolk County Police Department is one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the nation, and I want to congratulate the 177th recruit class on a tremendous job completing their classwork early,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said. “Our first responders are on the front lines of this crisis, and today’s graduates will get right to work helping to save lives and keep our residents safe.”
No state-mandated coursework was skipped or abbreviated to accommodate the early departure from the academy. Recruits and recruit training staff worked a two-tour schedule for the past two weeks to complete all necessary classroom and hands-on training and qualifications.
“I would like to congratulate the recruits and thank our academy staff on their hard work and dedication to helping us complete training ahead of schedule,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. “Although it is disappointing we did not have a traditional graduation ceremony, it is critical that these new members join the Suffolk County Police Department on the front lines to battle this crisis.”
Thirty-five percent of the graduates have prior law enforcement experience while 25% have military experience. The academy also trained 21 recruits for outside and associated agencies.
Commissioner Hart and the Class President Kyle Negrin addressed the class on March 27 before they received their precinct assignments.
