HPD focusing on recruitment with 17 current vacancies

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Recruitment is currently one of the biggest things on the agenda for the Harrisonburg Police Department as there are 17 openings across different departments.

A $6,000 sign-on incentive, partnerships with local educational institutions, social media posts, and career fairs have been implemented over the past few months to help recruit new hires.

“We’ve doubled the number of testing dates which would basically make us more available to applicants or potential applicants so that hopefully the testing dates can better fit their schedules making us more available to them,” HPD Detective John Langhans said.

Detective Langhans says the vacancies have an impact on programs offered and other functions within the department, as new hires must serve on a patrol for a period of time.

“A lot of the programs are done through specialty positions such as our Community Resource Unit but if we have a large number of vacancies obviously our first priority is to the safety and security of the citizens of the city and that comes from our patrol division,” Det. Langhans explained.

According to the City of Harrisonburg website, at full staff HPD employs 112 officers. To learn more information or how to apply, you can call 540-432-8900 or click here.