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Chief urges more full‑time officers as council weighs cost and hiring timelines
Summary
South Berwick’s police chief told the council the department is understaffed and increasingly reactive, citing rising calls for service and a request for two additional officers that would add roughly $302,000; councilors asked staff for scenarios and deferred a decision to a Tuesday follow‑up.
The Police Chief, speaking during a budget workshop, urged the South Berwick Town Council to consider adding two full‑time officers to a department he described as stretched thin by rising call volumes and a growing town population.
The chief said the department has not kept pace with population growth and cited calls for service that have roughly doubled over recent years. “In 2023 we logged 14,184 calls for service; in 2025 that rose to 15,179,” the Chief said, describing how officers are often the sole responder on a shift and how that limits community policing and event coverage. He said…
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