With new multi-year contract, all Fall River officers to soon wear body cameras, see restructured pay scale

A multi-year contract reached between the City of Fall River and the Fall River Police Department means better pay for some officers and department-wide body cameras.

According to Nick Macolini, Director of Human Resources, among the highlights of the new agreement that covers the period of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025, are:

Restructures the wage scale by changing the existing 11 step wage schedule to 3 steps effective 7/1/23.
Adds a 5% stipend to positions classified as detectives.
Implements body worn camera program department wide for all officers.
Caps the accumulation of compensatory time.

In June of 2022, the first group of Fall River police officers assigned to the Special Operations Division hit the streets wearing Body Worn Cameras for the first time. The now completed pilot program involved 7 officers and 1 sergeant. The 200+ officers could be wearing the cameras as early as late spring of this year.

Photo courtesy of Fall River Police

In April of 2022, representatives from Axon were at the Fall River Police station providing hands-on training in the use of body worn cameras to officers assigned to the Special Operations Division.

A 5-year grant will help pay for the cameras, data, and maintenance.

In December of 2021, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded more than $4 million in state grant funds to 64 municipalities across the Commonwealth to provide departments with resources to start or expand Body-Worn Camera programs. The Fall River Police Department received $201,324.20.

In addition to body cameras, a new bi-weekly wage scale is in effect beginning July 1st.

Step 1 – $2,346.20 (Hire date through year 4)
Step 2 – $2,538.50 (Year 5 through year 9)
Step 3 – $2,923.10 (Year 10+)

A cap on compensatory time was also set at 480 hours.