The Portage police and fire departments are recruiting new members, even as their current ones face some challenges.
Police Chief Michael Candiano told the city council Wednesday that his department has launched an emergency hiring process, with three current openings and another two expected as officers retire in the coming months. "So we're looking for academy-certified officers," Candiano explained. "It's kind of an expedited process to see if anybody wants to come over from any other departments. So essentially, we're trying to steal some officers from other places. I don't feel bad about saying it."
While discussing his department's plans for National Police Week, Candiano said that law enforcement in general isn't getting any easier or safer. Still, he disputed the idea that Portage specifically is an unsafe city, despite concerns raised by candidates in Tuesday's primary.
"It's not the case. The police department is not ineffective," Candiano said. "I personally think it's a little bit of a slap in the face to all of our officers that are out there every day in the community, to try to paint it that way."
Candiano attributed an increase in calls to population growth — and again said his department simply shares more information publicly than neighboring agencies, making residents more aware of crime. "You're going to have more accidents. You're going to have retail theft. You're going to have these things as you grow. More people in the neighborhood, you have fights amongst family members. You have these things," Candiano added.
The Portage Fire Department has also been busy, but Chief Randy Wilkening said it's had some successful calls in the process. "A crew went out. They had somebody that was in cardiac arrest, and they were able to successfully revive them. And then two hours later, another crew went out and delivered a baby in the back of an ambulance," Wilkening said.
The Portage Fire Department had five open positions, as of Wednesday.
