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East Greenwich Police report staffing levels, grant funding and SRO arrangements as budget discussion continues
Summary
Colonel Brown reported the department has 34 sworn officers and discussed vehicle rotation, grant funding including highway safety and a body-worn camera grant; councilors and the chief discussed the school resource officer arrangement and possible cost-sharing.
Colonel (last name Brown) presented the police department’s FY2026 staffing and capital summary at the May 19 Town Council hearing, reporting 34 sworn officers across patrol, detective, juvenile and administrative divisions and eight full‑time plus one part‑time civilian staff.
The department described a vehicle-rotation plan that places new patrol cars into frontline service and moves older units into detail or administrative use; the department typically acquires two new marked vehicles a year. Revenue sources included traffic fines, VIN and permit fees, detail charges and grants; the chief noted a Justice Assistance Grant and a highway safety grant (highway-safety funds cited in the presentation total approximately $50,000 annually) and described an ongoing five‑year body-worn-camera grant of about $230,000.
Discussion touched on school resource officers (SROs): councilors and staff noted the town budgets roughly half the SRO cost (about $125,000 per SRO, or roughly $250,000 total) and said they are considering whether to formalize shared-cost arrangements with the school department so the school budget reflects those personnel costs directly. Councilors also asked about recruitment and retention; the chief reported the applicant pool is smaller than in prior years but that current candidates are generally more qualified, and the department had an academy recruit scheduled to begin in July.
Why it matters: public safety staffing, grant availability and SRO arrangements affect ongoing payroll, operational planning and school safety costs.
Councilors asked about the stability of grant funding and the chief said that while federal and state grant programs fluctuate, the department expected to rely on highway-safety grant funds in the near term. The council and manager discussed potential future policy options to address SRO budgeting and cost-sharing between town and school budgets.
