DAYTON-- The Dayton Police Department has gone to unprecedented lengths in their latest officer recruiting campaign.

"We're going to large scale events, we're going to church picnics, basically putting the word out that if you have something going on that you want police officers there giving job opportunities to your crowd, give us a call," says Recruiting Sergeant Rhonda Williams.

While we can't share the numbers just yet, she says interest has gone far beyond expectations-- which is good for the department and the community.

"Actually in the past two recruiting campaigns, we had problems recruiting enough people," she recalled.

The heightened response also means a larger pool of candidates to choose from-- good news at a time when many other departments are laying off or cutting hours.

"We're losing a number of officers this coming January because of a delayed retirement option that will be ending, so we want to add more officers, we want to add more minority officers, we want to add more female officers in order to become more representative of the community."

Applications will be accepted until September 13th, and Sergeant Williams says now that they've found a formula that works, they're sticking with it.

If you're interested in applying, you need to be between 20 and 34 years old and a US Citizen with a high school diploma or GED.
You can call 333-1024, visit the city's website at jobs.cityofdayton.org, or apply in person or by mail.Huge Number of Applicants for Dayton Police Jobs