One very important public safety component is having trouble recruiting qualified candidates.
While the normal trend in a slowing economy is for unemployment rates to increase and people to be out of a job, police departments across the country are finding just the opposite as they are having trouble finding enough qualified staff to fill open positions. In particular, the Hannibal Police Department, located in Hannibal, Mo., is not finding the right candidates, according to an article by KHQA.
“It’s not a problem of a lack of applicants, but a lack of credible applicants,” police chief Lyndell Davis said in the article.
As the local, state and federal standards to be a police officer have gotten higher in the last several years, police departments throughout the country are finding it harder to fill open positions. For example, each applicant has to pass a written test, an oral interview with other officers, a physical agility test and complete a thorough background check and a lie detector test. If applicants complete all of these steps, they then receive a conditional job offer, meaning the job is theirs as long as they pass a personality test, a complete physical and a drug test.
“It’s not uncommon in a large group to have those using cocaine, meth, marijuana is very popular,” Davis continued, adding that lowering standards is not an option. “Other departments talk about the same thing. You’ll see increases in use of force, low morale, you’ll see issues because you hired a substandard employee.”
While this may make some people question the state of their own public safety, it’s important to remember that having fewer qualified employees is better than having numerous unqualified employees. The Hannibal Police Department is about three officers short, but has enough officers on the streets.
The average starting wage for an employee with the Hannibal Police Department is about $35,000 per year.