The Westbrook full-time police force is now three officers strong, after the Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted unanimously on Aug. 9 to hire a new full-time officer.

After coming out of a short executive session, the BOS announced that Sabine Nyenhuis has been hired at a rate of $32.79 per hour as a third full-time officer in Westbrook.

“We have an excellent constable force but they’re part timers and they take certain shifts that they can but a third full time officer is going to be a big help,” First Selectman John Hall said.

Historically Westbrook had had two resident state troopers as well as constables. However, the cost of having the troopers has risen to around $200,000 per trooper. Instead, the town has recently moved to having two full-time police officers in addition to the constables and one trooper.

While successfully campaigning for first selectmen in 2021, one of Hall’s priorities, if elected, was to hire a third full-time officer. The position was included in the 2022-’23 budget that voters approved this spring.

“I’m very glad we got it done. We’ve been working hard on it since December,” Hall told the Harbor News after the meeting.

Hall said the BOS had to negotiate with the police union as well as advocate to include the money for the position in the proposed budget during the budget process last winter.

“She’s starting right away, and she’ll be working late night shifts. That’s something we’ve never had before in Westbrook,”

In 2021, Hall explained he wanted the extra officer to add to evening patrols, hoping to deter the rising number of car break-ins and late-night break-ins. Hall reiterated a hope that Nyenhuis’ hiring would be help in slowing the break-ins.

“We expect this will be a help with those yes,” said Hall. “This is a lot better coverage for policing in Westbrook than we’ve had. I’m very happy about it.”