Medford Takes Steps To Diversify Police Force

MEDFORD, MA — The Medford Police Department is pursuing the ability to prioritize hiring bilingual officers, petitioning the state's Executive Office of Administration and Finance to allow the department to select officers who speak both English and Spanish, Portuguese or Haitian Creole.

The department hopes to prioritize hiring three bilingual officers in each of the three languages, if approved by the state.

"It is essential that police officers have the ability to effectively communicate with persons in need to effectively assess emergency situations, and communicate with empathy and understanding," Police Chief Jack Buckley said in a statement. "To be able to do so effectively and efficiently, we must have the ability to communicate in the various languages most commonly spoken within our community."

Typically, when police departments hire new officers from a Civil Service list, they are given a list from the state based on highest test scores for the Civil Service Exam. Through "Selective Certification," departments are provided with a Civil Service list that prioritizes eligible officers based on an identified, specialized and job-related qualification.

"We will continue to explore every available avenue to ensure our police department looks like, talks like and listens to our residents in a way that reflects and respects our rich cultural diversity," Neil Osborne, director of the city's Office of Diversity and Human Resources, said in a statement.

The requests are currently under consideration by the state.