Steubenville Police offering new way for officers to join the force

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (WTRF)

A local police department is trying to stay ahead of the game when bringing on new officers.

The Steubenville Police Department has a new way for officers to join the force.

They recently changed their policy to make it so individuals who are currently certified in the state of Ohio are able to bypass the initial physical and the written test.

“Because what we found through the years, we were losing officers who were coming out of police academies looking for jobs. And at the time we weren’t hiring or we weren’t testing. So they would have to wait for a test.”
Chief Ken Anderson – Steubenville Police Department

Sgt. Ryan Lulla has been heavy on the recruitment of officers for the department and says that having a list like this really helps them especially if someone were to get injured or something medical comes us and they need to hire someone quickly.

“In the past couple of years. We have kind of seen a decrease in applications. We increased our recruitment effort. We’ve been to job fairs. Law enforcement recruitment events and just trying to bolster our numbers a little bit and trying to hopefully fill some soon to be open spots.”
Sgt. Ryan Lulla – Steubenville Police Department

Having this list in place makes it as easy as possible for people who want to come and do the job.
City Manager James Mavromatis says the city of Steubenville is the largest in Jefferson County and there is a lot of opportunities for people or families that want to relocate.

“As a police officer coming into the community. What is here for my family. That’s the first thing they’re going to look at. Well, we have a lot of things here. We have two high schools here. We have two colleges. We have a large enough department that the work that’s here. It’s diverse every day. Nothing is ever the same. So but also and the pay is comparable. And these are things that we’re looking at right now.”
James Mavromatis – Steubenville City Manager

Officials say that if you are currently an officer and looking to come back to the area, wanting a change of pace, but no matter the reason.. they want them to know their are options available to them.

“We can try to draw people into this department and into this profession, really, because I think you’ve seen a drop in the number of people entering police academies and in the profession overall. We want them to come here to Steubenville. But again, there’s great departments throughout the valley. So if we get somebody interested in the profession, we want to do that as well.”
Chief Ken Anderson – Steubenville Police Department

Chief Anderson says he is extremely proud of all their officers and dispatchers for how hard they work and all they do everyday to serve and protect our community.

Officials say the department has plenty of opportunities for over time and they have a guaranteed pension plan.

If anyone is interested in joining their department you can click here for the link to the City of Steubenville’s website on more information and for the eligibility requirements

Here is a list of all departments they have within the department: