By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

One of the goals Salisbury Police Chief Rory Collins set out to accomplish this year and especially following community meetings in 2014 in the crime-plagued West End community was to restructure the police department and get more officers on the streets.

Residents in the West End have said they want to see more officers in their community after several incidents involving gun violence and property crimes in that area.

Recently, Salisbury City and the police department entered into a pilot program that would allow an officer to work day-to-day with the city’s code enforcement division. Salisbury Police Officer Rebecca Sexton, who was previously a Salisbury High School School Resource Officer, is now the agency’s police/code enforcement officer.

Police officers had long been working hand-in-hand with code enforcement, particularly in the West End community to tag and monitor dilapidated and vacant houses, especially those where vagrants lived and criminal activity had begun to take place.

Collins said Officer Sexton will work on nuisance-type issues in the city and will assist a code enforcement officer on minimum housing inspections. Eventually, the police officer will be certified to take on more code enforcement responsibilities.

The city and the police department will evaluate the pilot program in December.

So far Collins said, “things are going fantastic.”

The police department is always searching for qualified candidates who want to work at the agency. In fact, the first Tuesday of every month anyone who believes they want to work for the Salisbury Police Department is encouraged to take part in a testing process. No appointment is necessary, but the testing beings promptly at 9 a.m.

Those interested must read and comprehend the test, write in a way conducive to the department’s duties, and perform memory tests and be able to multitask.

The testing process isn’t the only hiring phase of the department, but it is a first step.

Collins said he’s implemented a number of changes to the hiring process that has sped up the process without compromising the department’s ability to ensure a candidate meets state and departmental standards as well as to ensure he or she is a good fit for the department.

This week, Collins has added three new officers to the police department after they were sworn in during a July 22 ceremony surrounded by other officers, staff and their families. The three new officers brings the Salisbury Police Department to 81 sworn positions and eight civilian positions.

Officer Doua Kong is a native of Thailand and a graduate of Bunker Hill High School in Catawba County. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Toccoa Falls College and then a master’s degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University.

Officer Kong completed Basic Law Enforcement Training at Catawba Valley Community College. Upon completion of the department’s Field Training Program, Kong will be assigned to the Patrol Operations Division.

Officer Sara Benfield is a 10-year veteran of law enforcement. She has transitioned into the ranks of the Salisbury Police Department and will be assigned to the Support Services Division, serving as a detective. She’ll undergo and complete an abbreviated Field Training Program designed to acclimate her to departmental policies and procedures.

Officer Benfield holds numerous certifications related to the investigative process and is a highly skilled child abuse/sexual assault investigator. She is a recipient of the 2015 “Kathleen Russo Friend of a Child Award.”

Benfield attended both Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and Davidson County Community College. Benfield previously worked for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office in its detective’s division.

She is one of two officers who will not begin with the police department as a patrol officer. Police Crime Scene Investigator Victoria Young is the second. She previously worked as a crime scene investigator for the Lexington Police Department.

Officer Anthony Mason is a graduate of Pequannock Township High School in New Jersey. After moving to North Carolina with his family, he earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in Mathematics from UNC-Charlotte.

Mason completed Basic Law Enforcement Training at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Upon completion of the department’s Field Training Program, Mason will be assigned to the Patrol Operations Division.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.