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Bridging the gap through partnership
The Wilmington Police Department and Downtown Visions are proud to announce an exciting new partnership called the "Bridge Program." Offering potential Police candidates employment at Downtown Visions will be a great benefit to both organizations involved as well as the participants. The program will focus on candidates not yet old enough for Police Service and those who have been unsuccessful in the application process. Candidates will receive critical training by Police and Downtown Visions Instructors and gain valuable experience working as the Eyes and Ears of the Police. Serving as Good Will Ambassadors within our community, they will have the opportunity to become familiar with neighborhoods and residents they will one day serve. Riding along with Wilmington Police Officers, attending the Citizen’s Police Academy and class room instruction in the preparation for the Police recruitment process will lead them to successful careers in Law Enforcement. The Police Applicants who are unsuccessful in passing the Police Hiring process will be assisted with the improvement in the areas of their weakness, and will be automatically entered in the next Police applicant pool.
Police Chief Michael Szczerba stated that "Downtown Visions will act as a bridge to help raise the level of proficiency in a candidate’s area of weakness. This program will also serve as a great training tool for individuals who have not met the age requirements to be a Police Officer." Says Szczerba "The Downtown Visions program assists the Police in many ways including the monitoring of City surveillance cameras and has sent us many candidates over the years who have become stellar Wilmington Officers." The Executive Director of Downtown Visions, Marty Hageman, himself a former Wilmington Police Officer adds " This program is a win/win situation as it will provide Downtown Visions with a motivated workforce who will remain employed until their entry in the Police Academy. It will also benefit the Police by increasing the proficiency of their applicants and supplying an on going pool of applicants."
