MOLINE, Ill. — The City of Moline is looking to recruit more police officers by making applying more convenient.
Typically when someone applies to become a police officer, there are set dates in the year because a police department needs enough candidates before doing physical or written tests.
The Moline Police Department now lets people apply any time of the year and will test candidates as needed. Police Chief Darren Gault says this is more convenient than the previous system.
"People are traveling or have other commitments and a date that we may advertise isn't convenient for someone," Gault said. "We're hoping that this removes another barrier from the testing process."
Gault said every advantage is important to bring in officers, including wages. Around $63,000 is the starting pay for an officer, which grew in the past few years by several thousand.
"When you get hired, you start earning that salary from day one. And we pay for the Academy, we pay for the uniforms," Gault said.
A recent national study shows more officers were hired in 2023 compared to the previous four years. The study also found that smaller departments still struggle to retain officers, as higher pay from larger departments is a factor. However, Gault said the department is on the right track.
"We were down almost 20 officers in 2021. We built back and we have closed the gap," he said.
News 8 looked at hometowns in the QCA with a similar population size, like Rock Island, Muscatine and Galesburg to see what their police departments do. Moline is the only one News 8 found that has this new type of testing schedule.