Nashville’s Police Department is having a hard time finding new recruits.
Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas says the problem isn’t as bad here as it is in other large cities. He says Nashville is down about 7-percent, or 70 positions. Chief Serpas says one challenge is the relatively low unemployment rate in the region.
“We offer a great starting salary, our benefits are good, but in this competitive marketplace you have to constantly keep your benefits and pay in line with other jurisdictions. Right now, we’re still doing good, but we have to keep that in the back of our mind, as a community, all the time.”
According to the most recent ranking of police pay around the country, Nashville’s compensation package is about five-percent higher than average. That ranks it 70th among the country’s 200 largest cities.
In order to increase its applicant pool, the department recently revised its policy on drug use. Now, a person must not have used marijuana in the past two years – the previous rule eliminated recruits if they had used the drug within the last three years.
The Metro police department has also started recruiting mid-level professionals in their 30’s and 40’s, who are looking for a career change.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM