Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Des Moines police are short 24 officers but couldn’t find enough candidates among 231 applicants to fill those spots.
Recruiters found only 17 applicants who met all the qualifications.
“We haven’t been this short since the early ‘70s, when we were having bombings and civil unrest,” said Assistant Police Chief Jack Morton.
Most applicants failed to make the cut for reasons ranging from poor vision to problems with telling the truth.
“After Sept. 11, a lot of people expressed an interest, but some of them withdrew. Others just didn’t meet minimum standards,” said Lt. William Jones. Starting pay for a Des Moines police officer is $37,381 per year.
“We will run short of officers before we lower our standards,” he said. “We’re just going to keep going until we find the right people.”
Des Moines is not alone with a shortage of officers.
Budget woes at the state level have sidelined new hiring by the Iowa State Patrol.
“We haven’t graduated a class since July 13 last year, we are not taking any applications, and there are no plans to start another class,” Sgt. Robert Hansen said. “If or when the state decides to put us back to full strength, I think it will be a challenge to find 40 people to fill the class.”
Hansen also applauded Des Moines police for “not hiring more than the number they deemed qualified.”
Not all of the 17 have passed medical examinations, so it’s possible the recruit class that reports to the police academy on July 22 could be even smaller.
The department also has hired 15 retired officers to take, and in some cases investigate, reports over the telephone. The retirees are allowed to work no more than 20 hours per week.
“We still have eight officers in the military that we count as being here,” Police Chief William Moulder said.
The authorized strength of the department is 373 officers - an all-time high. The number was increased earlier this year to reflect a commitment to the airport following Sept. 11. The number of officers on the job Wednesday was 353. More retirements loom.
Officials expected this year’s academy class to be larger than average. Classes typically number 15 to 20.
Among the 17 recruits are three state troopers, a police officer from Indianola, a police officer from Carlisle, and a police officer from Charles City.