NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — We’ve already told you police departments across Hampton roads are down dozens of officers, but departments are working to address the issue.
Today the Newport News Police Department hosted a one-day event for police officer and dispatcher candidates to start the process of joining the force.
“We are about 40-ish under right now that we need to get hired and that doesn’t count the two classes of recruits that we currently have - so they’re in our roster as officers but they’re not certified to perform as officers as yet,” internal support services lieutenant Jessica Collins said.
The department is hoping to boost its numbers with one-day training events on the weekend, designed to get more recruits into the academy and more officers on the streets.
Saturday’s all-day testing event is for police and dispatch applicants to complete their initial testing all at once.
“The first test is the physical agility test, the second is the written,” Collins explained.
These critical steps are the beginning of the hiring process to join the department. Collins said typically the department hosts the training on Wednesdays and Thursdays but found people can’t always take time off during the week to make it. She said by providing Saturday availability, they’ve gotten more interest from possible candidates.
“Our numbers are anywhere between 15 and 20 police applicants per event,” she said. “Typically when we would do them Wednesdays/Thursdays we may see one or two per week come through.”
This is the 4th one-day weekend training exercise for the Department as it works to recruit officers.
“We are very fortunate in Newport News that in 2022 we had 500 applicants come through,” Collins said. “However by the time you get through the testing, get through the background process, and the polygraph examination, some people are just not fit out for this job.”
If you missed today's event, you still have time to apply to join the Newport News Police Department as an officer or dispatcher.
You can text "JoinNNPD" to 757-767-4826 or visit https://www.nnva.gov/555/Were-Hiring-Join-the-NNPD-Team.