Delaware City panel certifies March police officer list, approves earlier polygraph and streamlined hiring steps

The Delaware City Service Commission on March 5 approved the March 2025 certified police officer list and adopted changes to the department’s hiring process intended to reduce delays and speed recruitment.

Commissioners accepted a list that now contains 17 certified candidates and approved a staff recommendation to move the polygraph (referred to in the meeting as a "truth verification test") earlier in the screening sequence and to combine several assessments into a single step. A police department representative told the commission the changes aim to identify disqualifying information earlier so staff do not expend time on candidates who will not be hired.

The certified-list update presented to commissioners said the department hired one candidate from the list since the last report, withdrew one candidate after they sought or accepted another position, and added seven new candidates; two new candidates scored 100 overall and three scored 95. The commissioned list now totals 17 candidates. The representative said a physical fitness test is scheduled "a week from Saturday." The transcript did not specify exact calendar dates beyond the March meeting.

"I am proud of the work that, folks at the police department and the staff of DAS have accomplished in the last year and half," the police department representative said, describing a shift from running hiring twice a year to processing candidates monthly. The representative said the city currently has 55 sworn officers on the payroll and an authorized strength of 60, and that, "if we maintain this hiring cadence ... sometime in 2025, we might be able to reach that staff."

Explaining the change to the order of tests, the police department representative said the polygraph had been moved later in the process by a prior administration and recommended returning it to an earlier step. "I think having a truth verification test at the beginning of our process, will allow us to determine whether or not these folks are gonna tell us the truth," the representative said. The representative added that combining tests would formalize current practice and reduce duplication when multiple candidates are at varying stages of screening.

Commission discussion referenced ongoing attrition and retirements as reasons to continue a frequent hiring cadence even if the department reaches 60 sworn officers. The representative estimated that for a newly sworn, noncertified officer the timeline to full duty is about 11 to 12 months; the representative said that time could be reduced by roughly six months for officers already certified by the state.

Two formal items were recorded in the meeting minutes: acceptance of the Feb. 5, 2025 meeting motion summary and approval of the March 2025 certified list and the accompanying process changes. Commissioners moved and seconded the motions; the transcript records that the motions carried but does not provide a roll-call vote tally in full.

The discussion occurred during regular business; commissioners did not place limits or conditions on the approved process changes in the portion of the transcript that addresses hiring. Other comments later in the meeting referenced media reporting on overtime in other jurisdictions and an active investigation the department said it could not discuss publicly at the time.

The commission did not cite any statute, ordinance, or external approval requirement in adopting the hiring-process changes; the changes described are internal to department procedures.