Columbus PD Career Day gives insight to new recruits

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Front lines workers and first responders are needed in every community. In Columbus, the Police Department opened its doors to find new recruits. “I’ve been doing it for over 30 years and I know there’s great reward,” Assistant Chief Doran Johnson said. Doran Johnson is the Assistant Chief of Police in Columbus. He said career day is an opportunity for folks to get to know the profession. “It’s something we do probably every three or four months, at least a couple of times a year because in police work you never know. We recruit some and then we lose some so we always have to keep availability of qualified applicants to fill those positions,” Johnson said. Career day is one way of getting people ready for the process. Elizabeth Patrick, the Director of Training, said it helps recruits understand expectations. “Us having the career day, they going through each step, they see what they’re going to be doing prior to hiring. It helps them because they know what they’re getting into. They see what they’re getting into,” Patrick said. Recruits toured the precinct, reviewed requirements for the PT test, and visited the shooting range. But there’s one important detail all officers look for, it’s a person’s character. “First of all, we’re looking for people who have a passion and a desire to want to be a police officer because it’s not easy work. It’s not something that sometimes you get a lot of thanks for a day in and day out. Putting your life on the line for people you don’t know. So you have to kind of have a desire to serve and want to be out there even when you face certain criticism,” Johnson said. “A good work ethic, hardworking, integrity. You need to know what integrity is,” Patrick added. According to Assistant Chief Johnson, the two most important things that new recruits need to remember are to one, be patient, and two, be prepared. “Sometimes, people don’t come prepared to get through it. Just like the, I guess, the biggest, first initial step is getting through the physical test and the biggest part of that is that mile and a half run. You know, you kind of have to prepare yourself for those things if it’s something you want to do,” Johnson said. If you missed today’s career day and are interested in working with the department, you can fill out an application online and attend the PT test on August 28th.