Two new police recruits are heading to the police academy after the Kearny mayor and Town Council approved their hirings at the meeting of the governing body Oct. 21.
Cristina Phang-Bastidas, 24, of Kearny is the first recruit. She was born in Peru where she attended school until eventually moving to Kearny with her family. She graduated Kearny High School and then obtained a bachelor’s degree from Montclair State in justice studies (a major that focuses on criminology).
Official note she has an “impressive GPA and academic history.”
Phang-Bastidas currently works as a teacher’s aide and speaks English, Spanish and partial Italian and Portuguese. Her dad was a police officer in Peru for 20+ years
Jaden R. Moreno, 20, of Kearny, is the latest graduate of the Kearny PD’s Junior Police Academy to go on to seek a career in law enforcement. He graduated Kearny High School and has completed 80 credits toward his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at William Paterson University. He says he intends to complete his degree after completing the police academy.
Officials note like Phang-Bastidas, Moreno also has an impressive GPA and academic history. He works three part time jobs: as a safety-patrol officer at William Paterson University, as a server at a wedding venue and as a photobooth operator for special events. He is a volunteer at Pioneer Paws, involved with caring for feral animals, and has been taking Spanish courses in college to learn the language.
Both are being hired to fill vacancies (not increasing manpower but back filling).
They will begin the Passaic County Police Academy in November, after which they will be trained by field-training officers for three months and hit the streets by the summer of 2026.
Each’s starting salary is $50,749.
“I offer my gratitude to the mayor and Town Council for their support in allowing us to fill these vacancies,” Police Chief Scott Macfie said. “We are proud to welcome two new police officers who are graduates of our local school system. They join us with impressive academic and employment histories, and we are confident that they will have distinguished careers serving the town they call home.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.