NEW cary police OFFICERS TO be sworn in tomorrow

CARY, NC – As part of the Town of Cary’s commitment to a high level of service through public safety, five new police officers will be sworn into the Cary Police Department on Wednesday, May 17; Larry Arellano, Jonathan Finch, Tori Sears, David Hazelzet and Bob Tonietto will be sworn in during a ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in the Cary Town Council Chambers, 316 N. Academy St.

The new officers come to the department with experience from all over the country including: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; Dallas Police Department; Norfolk Police Department; Raleigh Police Department, and Durham County Sheriff's Office.

“We look forward to welcoming the new officers to our team,” said Chief Scott Cunningham.  “The skills and experience they bring to the force will be valuable, helping us to increase our presence in communities and better serve and protect the citizens of Cary .”  The new recruits are the first officers to be sworn in since Cunningham became the Police Chief in August 2005.

Each police applicant goes through a 120-130 day hiring process that includes an extensive background investigation, psychological testing, medical screenings and computer voice stress analyzers. The applicant must sit before a review board, and the Police Department’s majors, captains, Deputy Chief and Chief of Police also interview each candidate. Lastly, the recruits spend four weeks in orientation qualifying with their weapons and learning about the department and its different divisions and opportunities.

Nationally accredited in 1992 through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, the Cary Police Department is comprised of over 178 staff (145 sworn officers) with patrol teams in standard patrol duties as well as bicycle, traffic, or motorcycle assignments. Cary PD also has specialty units that perform specific functions separate and apart from patrol teams including criminal investigations, diverse operations and enforcement, communications, and youth services.

The department averages over 90,000 emergency/911 calls per year to its telecommunications center in addition to another 160,000 non-emergency calls. During the past year, officers have answered over 30,000 activity calls and investigated over 4,000 criminal offenses.

Ranked in the top ten of safest large cities in America for the last seven years, Cary continues to increase its public safety efforts.  As part of the fiscal year 2007 budget, an additional 10   officers have been requested to help provide optimal service on the streets of Cary .

For more, visit Town of Cary Police Department at www.townofcary.org.

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