By Mary O’KEEFE

The Glendale Police Dept. is in recruitment mode. It is looking for men and women who are interested in public service and community engagement. The department is looking for police cadets, communication operators/dispatchers and recruits. It is particularly looking for candidates bilingual in English and Armenian and English and Korean.

Lt. John Gilkerson, GPD, said the cadet program has a lot of advantages for those thinking of a career in law enforcement; however, there is no requirement that cadets must continue into law enforcement.

“Cadets are able to be enrolled in college and they are hourly employees [at GPD],” Gilkerson said.

The cadet program is for college and university students. They are assigned to specific areas of the department like the traffic bureau. One of the current cadets who attends UCLA wants a career as a city administrator, but is working with the GPD researching grants.

For recruits and dispatchers, the department is looking for people over 21 years of age who have a clean background.

“We understand that no one is perfect and some mistakes may not disqualify you,” Gilkerson said. “And candidates don’t have to live in Glendale.”

The department understands there is a finite pool of people that all agencies are looking at.

“Out of 100 candidates, we may end up with one person going on to the academy,” Gilkerson said.

Police officer recruit’s salary ranges from $6,665.17 to $8,711.75 monthly with medical, dental and vision plans. Police communications operator’s salary is from $3,789 to $5,812.92 monthly. Police cadets are an hourly rate of $11 to $14.62.

Gilkerson added the application process is not as difficult as some might think. On the first day, candidates are given physical agility and written tests. That is followed later by an oral interview including background tests that includes a polygraph test. There are also medical and psychological interviews that include written and oral tests.

The deadline for this round of recruitment is March 16; however, Gilkerson said there will be another round following that. GPD is continuously recruiting.

For information on GPD recruitment, visit http://joingpd.com.

  Mary Okeefe