Conn. Police Department Drops College, Military Requirements for Entry-Level Posts

TRUMBULL, CT — Instead of requiring college credits or military experience to apply, the Trumbull Police Department now accepts applicants with at least a high school diploma for entry-level positions.

On Dec. 10, the police commission unanimously approved changing its minimum qualifications in hopes of widening its applicant pool and better competing with nearby towns.

"Although we'd see like to see some coming from colleges, we felt that it was the time to open up the recruitment pool a little bit more," said Chair Ray Baldwin in an interview Monday.

Public Information Officer Lt. Brian Weir said, although the change could increase interest, he'd also like to see an applicant's life experience count toward deciding if they're suitable for the job.

"You can't discount that because somebody can decide to work instead of going to college, because not everybody has that opportunity, but it shows they're still doing something for themselves," Weir said Monday afternoon.

During the meeting, Chief Michael Lombardo said a large portion of applicants usually don't qualify for the job solely based on the minimum requirements of either obtaining at least 60 college credits, receiving two years of military experience, or both.

Town Director of Human Resources Thomas McCarthy said 16 of the total 45 candidates this year were disqualified due to not meeting those requirements.

Baldwin said the commission agreed to reach out to those 16 applicants via email to tell them they're eligible now and give them a second chance at pursuing employment.

"They'll be able to apply and go through the process," Baldwin said. "And maybe we'll get two or three out of those 16, or none, but at least we have a chance to take another look at them now."

Lombardo said multiple nearby towns also don't require college credits to apply, including Bridgeport, Stratford, Monroe, Norwalk, Redding, Shelton and Wilton.

Baldwin said, although this change adds Trumbull to the list, it doesn't mean the town's standards have shifted.

"We've got a pretty good screening system in place ...," he said. "We're not by any means going to lower our standards at all."

During the meeting, Lombardo said the department has 72 officers, short of the total 82 officers that would fully staff the department.

Baldwin said the change in education requirement, along with the return of the officers' pensions in November 2023, could potentially help the department with its ongoing staffing shortage.

"The pension was done away with in 2014, so we've been struggling with recruitment for at least the last five years," Baldwin said. "Then getting it back was a great first step, but ,in general, police recruiting has been a difficult task for many police departments regardless of the requirements."

Baldwin said, although the police department will accept applicants without college credits, continuing education is still considered valuable.

"The chief and the commission are going to encourage officers to continue their college education while in the police department, but we're just not going to make that a mandate for entry-level officers," he said.

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