The Oak Bluffs Police Department has welcomed two new full-time police officers to its ranks.
Officer Jared Andrews served as a special officer for the town’s police department since 2010, before joining the state police as a trooper with the special victim’s unit.
Andrews holds a master’s degree in addition to having extensive police training, Searle said.
Officer Jared Stobie, who grew up on the Island, began his law enforcement career as a special officer at the Chilmark Police Department.
Stobie holds a bachelor’s degree, serves as a drone pilot, and often participates in search and rescue operations.
“Both of these gentlemen are bringing different but important sets of skills to the Oak Bluffs Police Department,” Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jon Searle told the town’s select board Tuesday.
“Most importantly, they made a conscious decision to move to Martha’s Vineyard knowing full well of what it means to live here.”
Due to a culmination of factors, including the Island’s housing crisis, staffing OBPD has been particularly difficult, Searle said. “We’ve been blessed with these two applicants.”
The two officers’ appointments were subsequently approved by the select board.
Also on Tuesday, Searle presented an updated department policy regarding officer wellness, which was also approved by the board.
The policy, which has been tailored specifically to Oak Bluffs, involves providing resources for first responders who’ve experienced trauma on the job.
“The old school way was ‘yeah that was terrible, now let’s get back to work,’” Searle said. The new policy will replace that outdated grin-and-bear-it mentality, Searle said.
He emphasized the importance of acknowledging and addressing mental health concerns among departmental staff.
Moving forward, he said, “We want to develop a culture where it’s okay not to be okay.”
“The objective is to keep people healthy, both mentally and physically,” Searle said, adding that the hope is that the policy would eventually be expanded to cover fire department and EMS staff.
