Brentwood's newly reinstated police department now has a chief to lead it, and the town is looking to hire a second officer by June.

David Risik, a former senior corporal with New Carrollton's police department, was sworn in Dec. 17 and serves as the new department's first — and only — employee.

The town voted in October to re-establish the police department, which had been defunct since 1972 after mismanagement once the town's police chief was fired after he was caught breaking and entering in another town, according to Brentwood Anti-Crime Advisory Committee member Nina Young. A town anti-crime committee recommended the move in a 2009 report as a way to combat crime in town. The town created the committee in the wake of a 2007 double homicide.

Risik, 58, has been in law enforcement for 13 years, and most recently spent four years with the New Carrollton department, where he was in charge of writing grants and was a shift supervisor.

"I was at the point where education- and experience-wise, I wanted to be a chief of police," Risik said.

Risik, of Annapolis, used to live in Bowie and was a police officer with Fairmount Heights before coming to New Carrollton. He said he likes working in the county because "there's so much to do. It never gets boring."

Before getting into law enforcement, Risik said he worked in the public safety communications field.

The town is currently policed by five part-time county contract officers and a Mount Rainier contract police officer working full time in Brentwood. The town had budgeted $163,751 for policing this fiscal year, but the number of contract officers could be reduced and the Mount Rainier officer's contract may not be renewed in fiscal 2011 to free up money to hire additional full-time Brentwood officers, Mayor Xzavier Montgomery-Wright said.

Montgomery-Wright added that a speed camera, to be installed in the town this month, will also bring in revenue but that the town will need an officer, in addition to Risik, to manage the paperwork associated with the cameras.

Risik said the town's crime rate is 11 to 13 percent and is slightly greater than the state average and other Maryland communities of the same size due to its proximity to Washington, D.C.

Risik said there were approximately 3,000 calls for service in 2009. Brentwood's population is slightly above 3,000 residents, Risik said.

Risik said he wants to eventually expand the department to seven officers within the next few years and would like to hire one other officer by the end of the month.

The town allocated about $55,000 through June to pay for the chief's position, benefits, equipment and start-up costs for the department, taking money from other items in the budget such as speed humps, computer networking, unforeseen contingencies and charter revisions.

Montgomery-Wright said Risik's performance will be reviewed after the first six months, and he will then be eligible for a three-year contract, with a $65,000 annual salary.

Since being sworn in, Risik said he has been spending his time patrolling the town and getting administrative work out of the way to bring in another officer.

New Carrollton Police Chief David Rice said he and Risik graduated from the police academy together and have worked alongside each other for years.

"He's a very good grant writer. He did most of my grants for me, and he's got really good people skills," Rice said. "If you're going to be a chief, you've got to have good people skills."

Rice said Risik brought in at least $500,000 in grants during his time with the New Carrollton department.

In addition to his experience with supervising officers, writing department procedures and community policing, Montgomery-Wright said Risik's success in grant-writing made him a good candidate.

"To really grow [the department] in the beginning, we definitely need it," Montgomery-Wright said of grants.

"It also helps and benefits the community because there's different types of crime-prevention programs we can introduce and implement with senior citizens and the youth" using grant money, she added.