Amid hiring challenges, St. Joseph police stress maintaining high standards

By Jenna Wilson

Becoming a police officer is a process and a part of that process is giving recruits a taste of the job’s physical demands.

With 18 vacant officer positions that need to be filled, the St. Joseph police department is giving officer hopefuls a closer look at what becoming an officer takes in hopes to get more applicants through the hiring process.

Only three of the seven applicants showed up to hire testing at the police department on August 28. That number decreased even lower when it was time for the second part, the agility test, due to not passing the written portion. The written portion covers basic math, reading and writing comprehension.

“I think it boils down to what your determination for wanting to be in the job is,” said Ethan Miles, a recruiter with the St. Joseph police department. “How much do you want to start your career in law enforcement and help people?”

It’s a career that can require a lot of energy.

On Wednesday, August 28 News-Press Now got an inside look at what the physical agility test consists of with recruiter Miles.

“This is all stuff that we’re going to be doing,” said Miles. “A lot of running, you have the outside elements to deal with and today is pretty warm which you experienced. There’s a lot of obstacles that we deal with, climbing up and over things, through tunnels, crawling through windows.”

Two laps down the department’s training field and a 50-foot dummy drag of 175 pounds was enough exercise to start out the day but this was just the beginning of the agility test.

This was followed by an uphill run, tire drills, a 10-foot and 6-foot wall climb and tunnel crawls.

“You have to stay in shape and make sure you’re capable of doing this job,” Miles said. “If you’re in a fight with somebody and your backup is even a minute away, a minute can be a long time.”

One remaining recruit passed the agility test and onto the interview portion.

If it is your first time at a round table with police personnel, this part of the test can be unnerving. As a result, officers have addressed this portion with a different approach.

“It’s a pretty intimidating process for somebody that’s never been through it,” said Sgt. Brad Kerns, Executive officer at the SJPD. “Especially when you walk into a room consisting of five high ranking commanding officers in the department, fully dressed, just like I am right now. So, we kind of adjusted that whereas you saw today, peers are dressed in a more casual attire; something to make the building feel more open and friendly.”

Still looking to fill those spots, the department has incentivized the job and hopes it will bring more recruits out to test.

“We’re here and we’re trying to make the process as easy as possible,” said Jeremy Peters, a crime officer with the SJPD crime officer. “We mentor people through the process and have it set up where people will get a paycheck while they’re going through the academy.”

Recruits in the academy earn $37,000 a year once they sign on with the department. After graduating from the academy, they earn $51,984 a year. Each year following, officers earn a 3% increase in salary until it caps at $72,000.

However, the department said they will continue to have a thorough hiring process to ensure they’re bringing in the right people for the job.

“We have not changed our background investigations,” Kerns said. “We are still as thorough as we were day one and we will refuse to change that. As our mission statement is, it says protection, service and partnership with the community, and we want to make sure that we’re hiring the best candidate that we can for the community.”

The St. Joseph police department is recruiting for new officers year-round and encourages anyone interested to reach out to SJPD Recruitment Officer Ethan Miles by email at, EMiles@stjosephmo.gov.