(Spencer)– Hiring law enforcement officers in the region is becoming more of a challenge. A number of agencies in the area rely on the Iowa Great Lakes Hiring Cooperative for a pool of qualified candidates to fill law enforcement openings. Spencer Police Chief Mark Warburton told the city council Monday evening the cooperative received a record low number of applicants in its latest effort to find candidates…
“May 30th the Iowa Great Lakes Hiring Co-op met to go over our applicants for the latest job hiring. We only had six people fill out job applications for that co-op. This is an all time low for the co-op. I think it’s because we’re just saturating the market. There’s just so much demand to fill these positions right now. Currently there’s two open positions going to be in Milford to fill, so somebody’s got some pretty good odds here of getting a job.”
Warburton says there is a special incentive right now for anyone looking to get into law enforcement…
“Last Dollar Scholar, Iowa Lakes Community College pretty much pays your tuition for anybody looking to go into law enforcement now, so this would be a great opportunity for them.”
Warburton says the Spencer Police Department will have an opening later this year for an officer.
