New York State Troopers look to fill their ranks, after pandemic slows hiring
New York State Trooper Paul Sabo and his K-9 officer, two-year-old Belgian Malinois Kane, have a special bond.
Sabo spent five months training with his K-9 partner at the academy in Cooperstown. He said he didn’t know he wanted to join the program until after he became a state trooper.
“He’s like my son. He’s very protective of me. I trust him and he’s always looking for me and wants my attention,” Sabo said. “It was always in the back of my head that I might want to do this, but I didn’t know that was what I was really interested in.”
Sabo’s dog is named after fallen State Trooper Gerard Kane, who was killed in 1937 when he was thrown from his patrol car while responding to a call in Babylon. Kane is trained to detect narcotics and for tracking missing persons, including once used to find a suicidal man in Freeport.
The K-9 program is one of several fields State Police are looking to highlight as they try to attract new recruits.
State police are looking to fill their ranks during this year’s recruitment period, holding the test this year for the second straight year, instead of every other year, after falling behind during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Trooper Scott Wetterau.
The agency is also following a statewide initiative to increase the hiring of female cadets to 30% in its classes by 2030.
Wetterau declined to say what the hiring goal was or how many positions were vacant, adding: “We’re always going to hire and exhaust our list. It’s not a set number, there’s always a revolving door of our goals expanding...COVID was a setback because we missed out on those classes. We’re always growing and losing people. .”
The deadline to sign up for taking the entrance exam is Oct. 1. The last one given this year will be on Oct. 22. Those who qualify — and pass other requirements such as a physical ability test and a background investigation — then attend a six-month academy program.
Applicants ranging in age from 20 to 34 can take the test before their 35th birthday. Gov. Kathy Hochul raised the age in June from 29 to 34 to increase recruiting efforts. There is also an extension for veterans with at least seven years of military experience before they turn 42.
Earlier this year, the Governor also announced more than $66 million to fund additional State Police academy classes and increase the number of Troopers. The moves come amid a national recruiting crunch, in which law enforcement agencies are having trouble recruiting qualified candidates.
“Anyone can do this. You don’t have to know anyone. You just have to take the test,” Wetterau said. “We’re always hiring. People on Long Island think it’s just the highway division, but there’s opportunity anywhere in the state. ”
Other state police units include aviation, crime scene investigations, collision reconstruction and the specialty operation response team.
State police and first responders are facing similar problems as nurses and teachers are in attracting new hires, said Dennis Kenney, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“The helping professions are under attack in a lot of ways,” Kenney said. “The prestige and incentives in working in any of those professions are limited and the challenges are considerable.”
New York State Police is the eighth largest police agency in the country with more than 5,000 officers, Wetterau said. Long Island’s Troop L, which runs from Queens to Montauk, is the smallest unit, with about 150 officers.
Trooper salaries start at $59,612 and increase to more than $100,000 after five years, with additional pay offered for certain regions. At least 60 credits of college are required, but the education requirement can be deferred for up to two years. Up to 30 credits can be waived for military service.
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