WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas law enforcement agencies say they are having a hard time filling hundreds of open positions, largely because of negative publicity and low starting pay.
The Kansas Highway Patrol alone has more than 100 open jobs to fill, yet there are only 19 cadets in the patrol academy class now underway in Salina.
Increased public scrutiny of law enforcement after several high-profile incidents, paired with pay starting in the $20,000 neighborhood for new officers in the Wichita area, have young people looking elsewhere for more-lucrative careers, The Wichita Eagle (https://bit.ly/1YBzyds ) reported.
“It has an impact on your 19-, 20-, 21- and 22-year-olds that maybe at some point were looking to get into law enforcement and over the last couple of years, they’ve seen the negativity,” said Capt. Brent Allred, who oversees the Wichita Police Department’s training bureau.
“Maybe they’ve changed their mind now: Why would I want to be a law enforcement officer with all that stuff going on?’” he said.
Graduating college students are looking for jobs that pay enough to allow them to repay their debt, Allred said. Law enforcement doesn’t necessarily do that.
Law enforcement recruiters are struggling to connect with younger people coming out of high school and college, said Crawford County Sheriff Dan Peak.
His brother teaches a criminal justice course at a college in Utah, Peak said, and a common theme has emerged in conversations with students.
“They anticipate they’re going to graduate and go right in as a detective,” Peak said, adding that they also expect to work day shifts with weekends off.
The reality is much different.
“The very first thing that happens to you is you’re going to go to work nights - late nights,” said Sedgwick County sheriff’s Col. Richard Powell, who oversees the department’s training center and firearms range. “You’ll get Monday and Tuesday off, and you’re going to be working holidays and miss a lot of family events - birthdays, weddings.”
The Wichita Police Department has more than 50 openings for officers, while the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office in Topeka has 34 open positions for deputies.
“I’ve had two slots open for the last four months,” said Randy Rogers, sheriff of Coffey County in eastern Kansas. “That’s tough for a rural sheriff when you’re sitting here with a 14-man department.”
Those 14 deputies cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
There are so many unfilled detention deputy positions at the Sedgwick County Jail that deputies are on mandatory overtime, Powell said.
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