In what could mark the first step toward police department regionalization on Martha’s Vineyard, the Chilmark Select Board unanimously approved the start of discussions about Chilmark Police potentially assisting neighboring Aquinnah’s short-staffed police department.
The board voted on Tuesday night to allow Police Chief Sean Slavin to open discussions with the Chilmark Patrol Officers Union about providing overnight on-call coverage for Aquinnah, which currently operates with only one full-time officer, Chief Randhi Belain.
The decision from the board was made after Belain and Aquinnah Select Board Chair Tom Murphy presented a written request for assistance from the Chilmark Police Department at the meeting. Belain requested Chilmark Police assist Aquinnah with on-call shifts from midnight until 8 am, as well as open patrol shifts. The board narrowed the request strictly to overnight on-call shifts.
Belain said at the meeting that Aquinnah currently pays $800 a night for on-call coverage covered by deputies from the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office. Oftentimes on-call officers just sleep in Aquinnah to be available if needed.
“We don’t want to overburden Chilmark or its staff; we are looking for help because we need to protect our people as well,” said Murphy.
The staffing crisis in the Island’s smallest police department has been building for months now. Compounded by a lack of new recruits and officers who have aged out, left for another department, or are on medical leave, the issue has prompted early discussion about disbanding the department entirely in favor of a regional police force that could eventually include Chilmark, West Tisbury, and other Island towns.
Staffing is an issue across Vineyard police departments. Departments across the Island are relying more on overtime for patrols, with fewer and fewer applicants coming forward. Chiefs across the Island say there are a number of issues in play, housing and a national trend at the top of the list. Town officials have noted that many officers have circulated to other police departments around the Island, looking for a better salary amid the shortage. And the policing profession nationally has struggled to recruit new officers after incidents of police brutality made headlines. The New York Times reported that retirements in departments nationally were up 45 percent, and resignations by 18 percent, between 2020 and 2021.
While sympathetic to Aquinnah’s situation, Chilmark officials’ initial response was caution toward stretching their own resources.
Chilmark Select Board member Jeffrey Maida said he wants to help, but has concerns about putting an extra load on his town’s police department.
“It’s going to be a lot more work, a lot more coverage. It’s going to take time that they put into our town, out of our town,” said Maida. “I question if we even want to go down that road.”
“We don’t have a lot to spare,” added select board member Matthew Poole. “We have adequate coverage for our town, but we aren’t flush with people looking for things to do.”
Belain, trying to ease concerns, said he believes it would be less of a burden than expected. He noted that Aquinnah currently has one pending application for a new full-time officer, and a total of only 30 calls during the overnight shifts from January to September.
Chilmark Police Chief Sean Slavin said at the meeting that if they were to approve the on-call shifts in Aquinnah, Chilmark officers taking the on-call shift would ideally be paid the Chilmark department’s current rate of $130 an hour.
“If there’s a big accident and they are out for three hours, they get three hours. If there’s an alarm and they are out for 20 minutes, then they get the full hour,” said Slavin.
“Aquinnah would match all the fees and pay for any expenses,” Murphy said at the meeting.
The next step in the process is for Slavin to speak with the Chilmark Patrol Officers Union, and report back to the select board’s next meeting on Dec. 16 with its decision.
