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The Westland Police Department is establishing a New Hire Eligibility List from which the names of qualified candidates for police officers are selected for the interview process. The process of adding names to the eligibility list has already begun and will continue through February. "That list is supposed to be good for two years," says Brian Miller, Deputy Chief of Police for the city of Westland. "Once the list is established, any openings that happen while that list is still good, will be made directly off that list." The city of Westland is budgeted for 81 officers and there are currently two open positions.

To be considered a qualified candidate, applicants must be a citizen of the United States, be at least 21 years of age, possess a high school diploma or GED, possess a valid driver's license, and be a police academy graduate or attendee, and be certified by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES). "You have to have those requirements (met) in order to have an application," says Miller. Candidates meeting these requirements are required to take the written portion of their testing through EMPCO, a Michigan-based testing service company.

"One of the challenges that we as well as other departments are finding is that there are not enough applicants to really fill the need for officers," says Miller. The image of a career in law enforcement has taken a negative hit in recent years.

The actions of bad actors have been recently broadcast in the media and have resulted in fewer choosing law enforcement as a career. For those who see what is happening in the nation's law enforcement agencies and wish for things to change, Miller, who has been in law enforcement nearly 24 years, says that change can begin with them. "I've always thought that if you really want to make a change, you want to make a difference, you've got to get in at the ground level and do that. It's a great job, it's a very rewarding job."

The Westland Police Department also operates a Police Service Aide Program, which allows participants age 18 and older the opportunity to gain experience toward becoming a police officer and see what the job entails. Police Service Aides are part-time paid employees who handle phone calls, prisoner issues, and write minor reports. The skills learned can give police academy attendees an edge as they already possess skills and knowledge in departmental tasks. Aides who perform their job well for 18 months can have their police academy graduation or attendance requirement waived and have their name placed on the eligibility list.

"When we get to your name on the eligibility list, we'll hire you, we'll pay for your academy, we'll pay you a salary while you go through the academy and when you come out, you're ready to enter your training program," says Miller. "Although it's still a big investment, we had this employee here for 18 months so we know what type of worker they are, we know that they're committed to the Westland Police Department and we feel a little bit more comfortable making that big investment in them." Since 2013, Westland has employed 15 former Police Service Aides as full-time police officers.

"The hiring of people who are more representative of our community is important to us," says Miller. "We hope to project an image to the community that the Westland Police Department is a place where different races, different ethnicities, different life experiences are welcome .; I think the more people we can attract that have those different experiences or things to bring to the table, it's just going to make us a better department in the long run."

If you think this may be an opportunity for you or someone you know, find out more at http://[email protected] or see the department's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Westland-Police-Community-Partnership