On the job training: 12-week program sharpens skills of new Lawrence police officers

Jill Harmacinski, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·2 min read

May 7—LAWRENCE — There are 10 fresh, new people in uniform on the streets of Lawrence — the latest police academy graduates to join the police force.

The new officers, who are working all three shifts in the department, are all now embroiled in a 12-week training program, each rookie pairing up with a veteran officer, said police Chief Roy Vasque.

The training is designed to help the new officers combine what they learned at the academy with the practical, everyday workings of the Police Department, Vasque said.

"With a veteran officer, they will go over report writing, communications on the radio and the dynamics of the city," the chief said of the new officers.

The hope is the officers will also become familiar with city residents and business people and "get some good habits under their belt," Vasque said.

The training includes walking patrols around the city and driver training in cruisers.

The new officers graduated April 16 from the police academy at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill.

At the academy, the recruits studied laws and engaged in defensive tactics training. The Police Department training program that follows "gives them a good jump start ... so they really understand how to police correctly," Vasque said.

Two of the new recruits are following in the footsteps of relatives already working in public service in Lawrence: Jacob Lavallee is the son of Firefighter Rene Lavallee, and Adriana Almanzar is the sister of police Lt. Fabian Guerrero.

The other police academy graduates are Jose Balbi, Nicholas Cruz, Christopher Liriano, Ada Rosario, Jonathan Santiago, Fremio Soto, Oscar Torres and Lenin Vasquez, police said.

The Police Department is budgeted to have 163 officers. With recent retirements and several officers leaving for jobs with the State Police and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and counting the new graduates, the department currently has 157 officers, Vasque said.

Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.