Mineola, NY – Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, accompanied by Sheriff Vera Fludd, hosted 40 newly hired correction officer recruits in the Levittown Memorial Education Center for their official graduation on Friday April 12th. The class is comprised of 9 female recruits and 31 male recruits, many of whom have prior law enforcement or military experience. This is the largest class of recruits to be hired since 2008.
In addition to the correction officers, 4 Nassau County Fire Marshals, a Glen Cove Harbor Patrol Officer and a Town of Oyster Bay Constable graduated from the training program. At the ceremony, County Executive Curran assured the new recruits that no matter what the fiscal situation is for the County, they are guaranteed that their steps will not be frozen.
“Our Corrections Officers play a vital role in making Nassau one of the safest counties of its size in the nation, and my administration will continue to do all we can to support them,” said County Executive Curran. “Thanks to legislation I secured with Governor Cuomo’s support, we can guarantee that our new workers will receive their step increases, and the tools they need to ensure public safety, no matter what.”
“I am extremely pleased to welcome this large and diverse group of correction officer recruits,” said County Sheriff Vera Fludd. “We are continuing to move forward in recruiting and hiring people who want to serve Nassau County in this challenging yet rewarding law enforcement profession.”
“Nassau COBA is extremely proud to welcome Recruit Class # 103 to the ranks of the Nassau County Sheriffs Dept Division of Correction,” said Brian Sullivan, President of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association. “Our Department has been depleted for some time due to mass retirements that have occurred over the last couple of years. This is a great move forward for our Department as we continue working to restore this once great Dept to its proper place in the Law Enforcement Community.”
The 14-week long initial recruit training included recently added topics such as Mental Health First Aid and Narcan training. On September 28, 2018, a recruit class of 25 graduated the Sheriff’s Training Academy and have since begun working at the Correctional Center.
Corrections Officers are the only law enforcement members that have a Nassau County-specific residency requirement, which limits recruitment efforts. The County will be seeking legislation to expand the job to contiguous counties, similar to the Police Department’s recruitment.
In November 2018, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a bill that will allow Nassau County’s union employees to receive annual “step” raises even if the Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) imposes a wage freeze.
