The salary ranges from $57,428 to $80,849 per year, including benefits package, according to the city, which is accepting applications until March 20.
Plans to develop a pool of candidates is important because at any time the department could have about eight to 10 officers in a “deferred retirement” option, according to Davis.
Under a deferred retirement option or DROP, an officer stays on the force after serving their time, giving them the option to leave whenever they choose.
“These guys are here but they can literally go anytime they want because they have their time in,” said Davis. “In theory they could just say ‘I’m done.’”
The department has 43 sworn police officers.
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While Davis doesn’t expect any of his colleagues to leave without giving the department a heads-up, even the most generous of notices to the department wouldn’t help the department fill those positions without a pool of potential hires.
Davis notes the challenge for law enforcement agencies is, even if someone gives a month’s notice, the hiring process takes more than 30 days.
“That’s why it’s important for us to put a list of viable candidates together to get hired. We’re trying to cut that downtime as much as we can,” he said.
A typical applicant with the required credentials could take three months to be hired. Other factors can go into prolonging the hiring process including out-of-town background checks, according to Davis.
Applicants must also be capable of passing several assessments including: oral interviews, a psychological examination, a medical examination, drug screening, a polygraph test and “academy-minimum physical” fitness standards.
One way Centerville would like to cut down on the time it takes to bring a new officer into the department is by using lateral entry applicants from Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy. Davis said those applicants already have their certification and required experience, after spending five months in the program. All that would be left for them would be to complete their field training.
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“That’s the ideal situation,” Davis said.
Centerville police department also requires applicants to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Other area departments like Oakwood, Dayton, West Carrollton and Kettering set a high school diploma or GED as their minimum education requirement.
“It’s a must, they won’t even consider you without it,” said Davis. “It’s a qualification that we’ve said you have to have in order to work here. It’s a standard we set for who we want to hire.”
More information about police officer jobs in Centerville is available by contacting the city’s human resource department at 937-433-7151 or by visiting centervilleohio.org.
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