CHICOPEE - The city has requested two civil service lists in order to fill several vacancies in the Police and Fire Departments.

Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said yesterday that he hopes to schedule interviews as soon as the lists are received to fill as many as 12 police vacancies and 15 firefighter vacancies.

He said the numbers may fluctuate depending on how many city officers decide to return to the Springfield Department.

The rest of the vacancies in both departments are due to normal attrition, planned retirements, or disability retirements.

"We want to begin the interview process but, obviously, we need to get a better handle on how many officers may be going," said the mayor. "The last thing I want to do is do cutbacks on public safety."

Chief John R. Ferraro Jr. said he plans to meet with the mayor to discuss how many officers plan to return to Springfield. The chief said he has a commitment from about six who plan to stay, but needs additional information.

The issue arose late last year when former Springfield Police Commissioner Edward A. Flynn said the city would hire 23 officers to bolster its force.

Meanwhile, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has made public safety one of his main goals, pledging to add 50 officers to the force.

The arrests seem inconsequential compared with the latest week of violence: Most of the 80-plus people picked up in a weekend police sweep throughout Boston were wanted because they had skipped court hearings on minor charges such as larceny, smoking in public, or missing jury duty.

But their histories of crime are much darker, police said. Each person arrested in the sweep is known to police for a violent past; the arrests were meant to weed out players in a world of crime that has rocked Boston with eight slayings this year, four of which occurred in the last week.

"These warrants are a valuable tool for police to send messages to those creating trouble that it's not going to be tolerated," said Officer James Kenneally, a department spokesman.

Those arrested in the sweep, which started after a killing in Dorchester on Friday night, may not be considered suspects in the latest round of shootings, he said. Still, he called them "high-impact players" in the city who are familiar with the violence and continue to commit crime.

They are young and old. Some are teens, known to police for their gang affiliations, Kenneally said. They include Corey Robertson, 17, who was arrested on a parole violation, and Kris Ganga, 18, who was arrested on a warrant of assault with a deadly weapon, a gun.

"These people are known to police," Kenneally said. "These warrants allow us to send a message to the high-impact players . . . that we are aware of those creating the largest amount of trouble."