Roughly halfway through the high season, police officials in Rehoboth Beach say this year’s cohort of seasonal police officers are exceeding expectations.
The issue came up at the most recent meeting of the Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, and DRBA Police Accountability Committee.
“They seem to be a lot more proactive this year than they have in past years, which is good,” said Rehoboth Police Lieutenant Mark Sweet. “It's nice to see them go out and actually do something.”
Part of the reason for the improvements in the seasonal program, says Rehoboth Police Chief Keith Banks, is improvement in the training those officers received this year. The focus is on communication skills and being an ambassador for the community as they interact with residents and beachgoers.
“They had more time on scenario-based [training] and using the radio and body camera and things like that to just get more comfortable with their tools and with themselves in uniform,” said Rehoboth Police Chief Keith Banks. “So like I said, I think that's been a big help.”
Several members of the Police Accountability Committee, like Mary Good, reported positive interactions with this year’s summer officers.
“It's really encouraging to see how many members of the community are approaching them just to have a chat,” she said. “They do seem more engaged this year.”
The program has been around for more than 50 years, providing extra officers to lend a hand to the city’s full-time police officers as the city’s boardwalk, streets, and beaches fill with visitors. The rejuvenated training program and growing numbers reflect a turnaround from just a few years ago, when the city was only able to find 10 seasonal officers. This year, the program has 16 seasonal officers. The number of summer officers the department can hire fluctuates with each year’s budget, but is usually between 16 and 26 per year.
While the summer officers do not go through the police academy like their full-time counterparts, they receive weeks of training locally before starting patrol duties. Also unlike the city’s POST-certified full-time officers, seasonal officers do not carry firearms or tasers. Instead, they are usually equipped with pepper spray, a baton, and handcuffs. They also wear and are trained on body cameras.
Salaries for the seasonal police officers start at $21.50 per hour, and the program attracts a number of young adults who are interested in pursuing a law enforcement career. It offers job experience and internships.
The seasonal officers serve from April through October.
