Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges speaks on 2023 law allowing immigrants to become officers

SEASIDE, Calif. (KION-TV)- Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges is preparing his department for the new year. The new year brings new laws and some old problems too.

Borges took us on a ride along and spoke on a new California law that will allow immigrants legally allowed to work in the United States to become police officers and firework enforcement as New Year's Day approaches.

 “Most definitely. I don't have a strong opinion on the law. The way I see it is we will always follow and respect the laws that are put into place," said Borges. "But again, for me, what I want is police officers to work here who have strong character. They have a desire to want to help people. They're going to be proactive in their work. They're going to be compassionate. They're going to police with integrity and honesty and established trust.”

Borges added that he feels retention comes over recruitment. Keeping experienced and trained officers is key to his department's success. While most agencies say "recruitment and retention," Borges adheres to "retention and recruitment."

“The key thing is, is our staff. We have to invest in our current staff within our ranks because everyone talks about recruitment and retention," said Borges. "And I think it should be the other way around. I think it should be retention and recruitment because if you cannot retain the people that you already have who would want to work at a place like that, that's a big red flag."

Borges said his department offers incentives for aspiring officers in the community. A bonus of $5,000 will be given to new officers who reside in the community.

Additional bonuses are offered after five, ten, 15, 20 and 25 years of service in Seaside.

While Seaside, like other law agencies, is struggling to find and keep officers. Borges feels building from within is key to creating a positive work environment, one that will fix the underlying issues and help draw in new recruits.

As for one of the other things on his mind... Fireworks seem to be a problem in the days leading up to the new year.

"We actually establish a fireworks task force that we're piloting this week. It's already in effect.," said Borges. "And even on our social media, we have post out there about giving gift cards that people can give us information that we can substantiate that leads to somebody selling illegal fireworks here in Seaside. We're going to give them a gift card, a minimum of $50, and probably more. If the person that we capture has large volumes of fireworks.”

On top of the seeming mountain of things on Borges' plate, he also told KION he wants to bring back a citizen police academy, lower the crime rate, solve more cold cases, expand outreach to the youth and create a full traffic division.

Correction: The bill removes the provision that an individual must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States to become a police officer.  The bill only allows legal immigrants to become police officers. This article previously stated that undocumented workers could become peace officers.