Jun 17, 2016 2 min read

McMURRAY – At the request of its two top officers, Peters Township Council changed the hiring requirements for part-time police officers.

It is hoped by waiving the degree requirement for officers who have eight years of experience, as well as the physical agility test for candidates who have served as police officers within the last two years, the department will be able to keep four part-time police officers on staff at any one time. The department currently has two part-time officers.

“The recent hirings, more often that not, are straight out of school and are with us for only a little while,” said Paul Lauer, assistant township manager .

Council also agreed if a candidate has four years of experience as a full-time officer and an undergraduate degree in criminal justice or related field, that would count as eight years of job experience. In addition, any township job candidate must pass a medical examination and psychological evaluations.

Deputy Chief Douglas Grimes said there are officers who recently retired from the state police or other police departments who would be interested in supplementing their income by anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 a year. It would also give the police department latitude in scheduling when a full-time officer is on vacation or on sick leave.

The move helps the township save money, too. For a typical 12-hour shift, it costs the township $700 in overtime for a full-time officer, but for a part-time officer the cost is $360.

“There are candidates out there,” said Grimes, who is a retired state police officer.”We have not tried to recruit them before.”

Peters has 24 full-time police officers. On any particular 12-hour shift, the department has a goal of having four full-time and two-part-time officers on duty, said Chief Harry Fruecht.