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Some police applicants won't need college credit

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published December 20, 2006

The Police Department, which has struggled for years to recruit and retain officers, is relaxing education requirements for some applicants.

The department will require no college credits from applicants who have two years of law enforcement experience at another agency or three years of honorable military service.

The department had required all prospective police officers to have at least 30 college credits to be considered for an opening.

"I'm hoping it will just expand our pool," police Chief Chuck Harmon said. "It doesn't mean we'll lower our standards."

Harmon said he was relaxing the restrictions partly because of competition from other law enforcement agencies, many of which don't require college credits, and partly because of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In previous years, Harmon said, many soldiers could take courses while stationed at bases. But he said that is more difficult for soldiers to do as they face combat in the Middle East.

"They don't have that opportunity for education anymore," Harmon said.

Harmon also cited competition from other police departments and sheriff's offices. The change in requirements became effective in late November.

In recent years, the department has had a tough time recruiting and keeping police officers. It lost 50 officers through the first nine months of this year. Over the past five years, the department has lost between 38 and 62 officers every year.

The department has hired dozens of officers to replace those who have left, but it still has vacancies. The department has 500 sworn law enforcement officers, though it is authorized to field 540.

A study commissioned by Harmon's staff found that 88 percent of police departments and sheriff's offices in the state required only a high school diploma or passing the GED, or General Educational Development, test from applicants.

Also, other local agencies, such as the Clearwater and Tampa police departments, allow applicants to substitute law enforcement or military experience for college credits.

"Based upon the survey, we are now at a competitive disadvantage with other agencies," Harmon wrote in a memo to Mayor Rick Baker on Nov. 28.

"Therefore, in an effort to be competitive in our recruiting efforts while still maintaining our high standards, the Department will change the employment requirements."

Sgt. Phil Quandt, a Fraternal Order of Police representative, praised the move.

"I think the bottom line is that we're in a market where we and everyone else are trying to hire people," Quandt said. "They saw the fact that we need to be in the same boat that (other agencies) are in."

The department started requiring applicants to have 60 college credits, or hours, in 1994, under former chief Darrel Stephens.

In 1999, the department lowered that requirement to 30 credits, two years after St. Petersburg Junior College announced it would award 33 college credits to students who completed the Police Academy and passed a state exam.

Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8472.

The standards

To be considered as a police officer, applicants must be at least 19 years old and U.S. citizens with a high school degree or the equivalent. Applicants had needed at least 30 college credits to be considered for a vacancy. Now, applicants with two years of law enforcement experience or three years of military experience no longer need to submit college credits.

[Last modified December 20, 2006, 01:53:03]