The Johnstown Police Department wants to build up the force. They’re hoping to hire four new officers.
“Before summer, we’re hoping to get more hirees in and trained so we have more bodies on the street in summer. We need qualified candidates to become police officers. So we’re looking for anybody that’s thought about being a police officer, interested in becoming a police officer. Grab an application and apply to take the test and see if you have what it takes to be a police officer,” said Johnstown Police Captain Chad Miller.
At the City Council meeting Wednesday night, City Manager Arch Liston said they want to bring a diverse group into the department.
“We are encouraging women and minorities to sign up to take the test. We need to diversify our workforce, our police departments specifically. And we do encourage that in the community,” Liston said.
Captain Miller said with the recent crime in the area, they’re going to need more bodies and they want to represent the community they serve.
“The national problem obviously between police officers and the citizens they serve, we want to, in Johnstown, not have that problem here. We want to be able to reach out to our community. We want to represent our community, both ethnically, racially, male, female, whatever it be, we want to embrace that in our department,” Miller said.
Starting on Monday, Feb. 13th, you can pick up an application on the second floor of the Public Safety Building.
Applicants need to be a U.S. citizen, at least 21-years-old, have a high school or equivalent degree and no felony convictions.
Captain Miller said he hopes a lot of people apply, not only to stop the crime, but also to connect with the community.
“With the homicides that have been happening, with the drug issues that have been happening, we have been running scarce right now. We’re pretty low-manned. So we’re looking to fill more positions, put more bodies on the street and hopefully eat away at the crime issue that’s happening in Johnstown,” said Miller.
