Columbus police are looking for more officers to join their staff

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Columbus police are looking for more officers to join their staff. On Saturday they held a career day for folks that want to help their city.

Columbus police do all they can to protect and serve the city, but there’s strength in numbers when it comes to doing the job and right now those numbers aren’t sufficient.

“This career day is to give a person an idea of what the police department is all about.. what the requirement is and what they have to do and get them to see what home feels like if they do the employment process,” said Chief Fred Shelton.

Shelton said there’s a few requirements candidates need before they are considered for the position—you have to at least 21- years- old and have a high school diploma or GED. There are 10 slots that need to be filled.

Four people attended career day. Candidates got a tour of the department,, learned how to handle weapons, and get more insight about the career field in law enforcement.

Shelton said the covid-19 pandemic has affected healthcare departments and other agencies. It’s left a great need for more staffers on the front lines.

“This post pandemic thing is affecting everything but one of the main things is that from a emergency stand point we need police department, fire department, we need doctors and nurses. These are our first responders,” said Shelton.

Candidates will return in February to prepare for the physical agility test.

“When they come all they have to do is come on February 19th pass the physical agility test and then we’ll be looking at doing an interview and getting them hire,” said Shelton.

Shelton said they plan to host a career day every three months to try and recruit more officers to the C.P.D team; and encourages anyone interested to reach out and fill out an application.