CHICKASHA — The Police Department signing bonus has resulted in two new rookie recruits to fill its depleted ranks, and others are “in the process,” a spokesperson for Chief Goebel Music told Southwest Ledger on Aug. 2.
One new, uncertified recruit, “a local man,” started July 10, and another rookie was hired just recently.
The department is budgeted for 32 officers but had 15 job openings on July 5, Music said. Consequently, each officer has been “responding to twice the normal number of calls,” seeing and experiencing “more traumas than normal,” the police chief wrote in an April 28 letter.
To fill its vacancies, the CPD is offering a bonus of $6,000 for qualified but uncertified applicants and a bonus of $10,000 for certified applicants.
To obtain certification, a law enforcement applicant must complete a basic course that features 600 hours of training sponsored by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, according to Elleigh Mills of CLEET Law Enforcement Records.
The 16 weeks of “intensive training” are intended to give candidates “the core knowledge necessary to work as a peace officer,” she said. Cadets receive classroom and practical firearms instruction, and training in “everything from practical instruction for traffic stops to defensive tactics,” emergency response and pursuit driving, first aid, human relations, criminal investigation, domestic violence and sexual assault, radar operations, alcohol and drug crimes training.
The bonuses will be paid in three phases, Music said: $1,500, $1,500 and $3,000 for rookies; $2,500, $2,500 and $5,000 for certified officers. The first payment will appear on a newly hired officer’s first paycheck; the second payment will be made after successful completion of the field training program; and the last payment will be made at the end of the officer’s probationary period.
The CPD budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 includes $10,000 for overtime pay, and Music said his department “came to an agreement with the city for a limited amount” to pay the new recruit signing incentives. The bonuses will continue to be offered “until the money is used up or until we have to cross that bridge,” Music told the Ledger.
Mayor Chris Mosley said the new city budget includes sufficient funding for a fully staffed Police Department.