BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — The Boynton Beach Police Department went virtual to try to recruit the best of the best to join the police force.
Police Chief Michael Gregory and the recruitment team hosted an hour-long question and answer session live on the department's Facebook page at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. They answered questions and encouraged those interested in law enforcement to apply with Boynton Beach Police Department.
Chief Gregory says COVID-19 has really impacted the department's recruitment efforts, so he knew it was time to try something different.
"A lot of job fairs weren’t occurring, a lot of opportunities to meet on college campuses with students weren’t available to us so it’s put us behind schedule of where we want to be, so we figured we’ve got to start getting with the times," Gregory said.
He said they needed to start thinking outside the box to find the best candidates. Right now, he has about 12 vacancies ,but that's always a moving target with retirements and people leaving for other reasons. Gregory says the number one priority is hiring sworn law enforcement officers, both those already certified and non-certified, but other opportunities are available.
"We weren’t able to reach out and touch and see people like we did in the past, so this is our chance to reinvent ourselves virtually and double down on reaching out far and wide to find the best of the best," said Gregory.
He hopes this hiring event can help the department build a strong list of qualified candidates they can choose from.
"What my goal is, is this surge we are doing this year to try to make up for last year will help us not only fill our vacancies but to establish a pool of highly qualified candidates to move forward," Gregory said. "Recruiting is a long term process, hiring and selection is a long and complicated effort so getting people through that and on the waiting list is really where we want to be."
Chief Gregory says his department is not only looking for people who score high on exams but those who hold their five core values.
“We’ve established professionalism, respect, integrity, dedication, and excellence as the five values we hold core to what we do every single day. We want to demonstrate that to the public to the people who need our assistance, and to one another internally in the police department, and so, of course, we’re looking for candidates call fall in line with that,” Gregory said.
To learn more about job opportunities and how to apply, click here.