Oswego Village Board members have authorized the hiring of a full-time police training coordinator to manage the Oswego Police Department’s enhanced training program and growing police force.
Oswego and Yorkville have had a shared services agreement that employed a police specialist working between the two communities. However, Yorkville has notified Oswego that it is transitioning to a full-time police training coordinator effective Jan. 1, 2026. The city also notified Oswego that it has hired the individual.
Yorkville and Oswego have shared the position since 2023. The two communities previously did not have a police training coordinator, Oswego Police Chief Jason Bastin said in a report to trustees.
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The change to a full-time training coordinator in Oswego is necessary to keep up with enhanced safety protocols plus a growing police force, he said.
“We have increased our training program beyond just mandates and have discovered that a part-time training coordinator is unable to fulfill the requirements of the role in only 20 hours per week,” Bastin said.
The police force previously had some 7,500 hours of training annually and that has since increased to more than 9,000 hours each year, Oswego police officials said. In addition, the police training program has grown to include new proficiency training and standards or Core Critical Tasks.
“CCT’s are a new training practice that requires officers to receive training in high risk/low frequency events, and to show minimum proficiency annually in all training disciplines,” Bastin said.
Bastin requested the village hire a training coordinator in November at an approximate cost of $19,500 for the two months prior to the new fiscal year in 2026.
The training coordinator doesn’t actually do the training but rather manages the public safety training for the department. The training coordinator further ensures training complies with relevant requirements for public safety employees and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, officials said. In addition, the individual develops and maintains training reports and training documentation.
The new position in Oswego is posted on the village’s website. The deadline to apply is 8 a.m. Aug. 29.
“It does offer an opportunity to look at candidates who have retired from a police department and have been involved in their department’s training program,” Bastin said.
He said retired police officers who have “been out there and done the work” can bring another perspective to the position, Bastin told trustees.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.