MPD moving full speed ahead with transition

Just over a month into taking over daytime operations in the city, the Maricopa Police Department is moving full speed ahead.

It was just last month the police force began handling daytime operations in the city. The contract with Pinal County stays in place to have the sheriff’s office continue to provide coverage from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Maricopa’s police department officially began operations in late October of 2006. At that time, there was one employee on the force. Today there are more than 20 full-time employees and more than a dozen vehicles in the fleet.

Plans call for more officers to hit the streets in the weeks and months ahead.

The department as it grows is testing for new police officer recruit positions this month. All applicants must complete an application prior to the test date, and the application must be received in the City of Maricopa’s Human Capital office prior to Thursday, Aug. 16, at noon.

The next recruitment examination will take place on Friday, Aug. 17, 8 a.m., at Maricopa High School, 45012 W. Honeycutt Ave. The test will take approximately two to three hours. All applicants will be notified whether they have passed the written test. Applicants who pass the written portion will be notified that day and invited to participate in the physical agility test on Saturday, Aug. 18.

Police Chief Patrick Melvin sees the force continuing to grow and evolve for the citizens of Maricopa.

“The Maricopa Police Department is on its way to being a full service police department,” Melvin said. “We have 35 employees now either in the academy, on the streets or in the training process getting ready for second shift.”

Melvin said the department is gearing up for its second or “swing shift” and are ahead of schedule.

“We had previously planned to have the swing shift on board by January 1, 2008,” Melvin said. “However, due to successes in professional lateral officer recruiting and also police recruit testing, we are planning to start the swing shift on October 1, three months ahead of schedule. The mayor, city council and city staff have been instrumental in this endeavor.”

As for any town, traffic control is always an issue. Melvin noted the department’s traffic hotline is in effect and has been actively receiving calls concerning traffic conditions in the community. “We are continuing to work with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office while we transition to a full service police department,” Melvin said.

In just the last week the department had great success when its communications “main tower antenna” was erected at Pacana Park. “This is our primary location, and our IT (Information Technologies) department was able to increase the effectiveness of our backup tower also,” Melvin noted.

Finally, the police department and the Maricopa Unified School District have entered into an agreement to have a school resource officer placed at the high school through the School Safety Grant.

The officer’s primary function is to deliver law-related education in the classroom, intervene with students when arguments occur and provide a campus presence of an officer.

Officer Christina Pantoja will be on site as school starts next week, working 40 hours a week for 10 months.

In previous years the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has provided a law enforcement officer to serve in the capacity as the SRO.