(CENTREVILLE) - The St. Joseph County Commission has approved a recruiting and hiring incentive program for the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office.
During their March meeting, Undersheriff David Northrop presented the Commission with a request for additional funding to help them add more deputies to the department. Northrop asked the County Commission for an additional $40,000 in funding to support a recruitment and hiring incentive program designed to address ongoing staffing shortages. Some of the money will go towards sponsoring candidates through a MCOLES-certified police academy, while some funds will be used as a hiring incentive for qualified MCOLES officers. (LISTEN ABOVE).
Northrop says any applicants who are currently licensed through MCOLES and are hired during the program eligibility period will qualify for a $15,000 hiring incentive. $10,000 would be given upon successful completion of the Field Training Officer Program. An additional $5,000 would then be paid upon completion of four consecutive full-time years of service.
The program started on January 1 and will continue through the 2026 fiscal year.