We've seen them do the lip sync battle, the running man challenge, but now several local police departments have to compete against each other for recruits. And they are doing to great lengths to get the best of the best.
West Palm Beach Police Department's recruiting video brings out the bikes, the boats, and the big guns. And Boca Raton Police Department's video calls on their every day heroes to inspire the right recruit.
"We want the best, best qualified candidate and we're going to do whatever we can to get the best," said Will Morales, Background Investigator for Boca Raton Police Department.
Recruitment videos on social media are popular among police departments, for some, it's the first time they've ever had to compete for new hires this way.
"This is the first time we've ever had to go out and drive recruiting," said Lieutenant Richard Jones, Ocean Ridge Police Department.
And what a better way to record what Ocean Ridge Police Department has to offer than a drone shoot at the beach with officers on ATVs.
"Show people this is a beautiful community, with beautiful scenes and it's unique," said Lieutenant Jones.
Ocean Ridge is seeking to hire 3 officers, which is a lot for a department of 18. The department is seeking recruits who want to connect with the citizens who live there and they are offering a starting salary of 53,902, competitive with PBSO's starting salary of 53,200.
"We give you those same trainings that it may take 10 years to get at a bigger organization because you have to go into a specialty unit for that kind of training," added Lieutenant Jones.
Boca Raton Police Department is much larger with 216 officers. The Department is looking to hire a total of 24 officers after adding 18 new positions. Boca Raton Police are offering one of the highest starting salaries at 68,000. The Department's recruitment video is calling on all heroes who have the heart it takes to do the job.
"We're trying to target people and let them know that anybody who comes to work for a police department and are police officers, they are a hero," added Investigator Morales.
Other departments actively recruiting are the Palm Beach County School District Police Department, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Boynton Beach Police Department and West Palm Beach Police. Delray Beach Police will start hiring in the next few months, but applicants can already set up accounts at governmentjobs.com.
