- Currently, QPD has 11 officers on staff.
- Their goal is to have 20 officers on the roster by 2025.
- Watch the video above to see why they're needed and how leaders plan to pay them.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Quincy Police Department is hiring more officers to better patrol the city and keep it safe. I spoke to one officer who commutes from Tallahassee to serve at QPD and he says….
"I always wanted to do something to make a difference."
Meet officer Adam Hartin…
He's been serving at QPD for 3 years and is one of the 11 officers on duty currently.
"I always felt like I was somebody that could serve the community and be a person that helps people."
Helping people… and keeping the community safe. That is top priority for QPD which is why their goal is to have a total of 20 officers by 2025.
"20 officers would give us 5 officers per shift and a sergeant and a lieutenant…."
Which will make them fully staffed.
Interim Chief Carlos Hill tells me some of his officer commute from Tallahassee to serve at QPD.
For them to work at QPD….
"Our current policy is 30 miles within the city limits or the actual police station."
Right now, Hill tells me about the salary for a QPD officer is $42,100.
Checking out our next-door neighbor’s salary numbers, Tallahassee Police Departments website says their officers can make between $48,000 and $58,000.
Chief tells me he's looking at ways to stay competitive when it comes to that pay.
"I’m trying to take our budget and look at it to where we can maximize the spending that we do and also be able to pay the officers what they need to get paid to try to help fill that gap."
A gap that Adam knows about but decides daily to suit up because..
"Some of those cases we work with from the beginning to the end. And actually, seeing someone get locked up for a homicide or something, it feels pretty good when you're able to say like, somebody did this egregious thing and I was able to help with that."
Chief tells me that he is working on projects that will help with training officers to be ready to go out in the field.
