5 police officers hired in busy city

FALL RIVER, MA (WPRI) - Good news for the city of Fall River and it's residents.

There will soon be five more police officers patrolling the streets.

On Thursday, Police Chief Daniel Racine and Mayor William Flanagan announced the hiring of five officers.

One includes a former Fall River police officer who was laid off in 2009 due to budget cuts.

Faith Amaral, currently a police officer in Newton, MA was rehired by the department.

"This will allow the specialized units to beef up patrol itself so they can spend more time being proactive and preventative which is the goal of policing, not to respond to crime, but to prevent crime in the first place," Chief Racine said.

Amaral joins four new male recruits; Nicholas Magan, Frank Andrade, Jr., John Deschenes, and Derek Oagles.

The four new recruits will now attend the Massachusetts Training Academy for 22 weeks, before going through a 12 week Field Training Program with the Fall River Police Department and will then be on probation with the department for one year.

Amaral is expected to be back on patrol sometime in the next week.

Nicholas Magan will become a third generation Fall River police officer.

His father, Richard Magan served with the department for 18 years before being killed in the line of duty in August of 2000.

Magan's grandfather George also served on the force, retiring in 1980.

Mayor Flanagan said once Magan graduates from the police academy, he will wear the same badge both his father and grandfather wore.