SPENCER — During a swearing-in ceremony at Spencer Town Hall on Tuesday, the Spencer Police Department achieved a mark the chief has been working on since taking over — a full staff.

“We’re very excited,” Police Chief Michael File said. “When I took over in December 2021, we had about a 50-percent vacancy.”

The five officers newly sworn in on Tuesday include A.T. Moore, J.W. Dryden, B.K. Dodson, A.B. Murph and G.C. Molaro.

Each new member of the department will bear the title officer.

Until now, the Spencer Police Department has had to utilize some contracted assistance with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office to ensure complete coverage of the jurisdiction during some shifts of the day.

“It was a long two years to rebuild the agency,” File said. “I have to give the credit to the staff that toughed it out during that time frame.

“The town board and mayor have been really supportive and helped us push through some mid-year raises.”

File said that fully staffed means 17 full-time and five part-time personnel.

Three of those officers are assigned to the three public schools in Spencer: North Rowan High, North Rowan Middle and North Rowan Elementary schools.

Eight of the officers in the Spencer Police Department are assigned to patrol positions. Two of them are assigned to the Active Criminal Enforcement (ACE) team, which performs proactive safety projects, targeted enforcement and enhanced community outreach.

The remaining positions comprise supervisory, administrative and criminal investigative roles.

For comparison, China Grove currently has 13 on staff, with 14 considered fully staffed. Landis is fully staffed with 12 full-time and three part-time personnel. Granite Quarry Faith Joint Police Authority currently has 10 full-time officers, with one in BLET and one remaining open position.

File is determined to maintain a culture that will keep those officers in Spencer.

“It’s all about treating all the officers fairly and making sure they feel like a family,” File said. “Officer buy-in is where they feel like this is their community to work in and not just their job.”

He is also optimistic about what the news means for his department and the future of the town.

“We are looking at the future expansion plans,” File said. “We are still accepting applications because we anticipate that we will need more officers eventually. With so much commercial growth on I-85 and Long Ferry Road, we know that there will be additional needs in those time frames.”