The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Police department to hire new officers
The Lorain Police Department could have new patrol officers on the beat by the end of 2020.
The city is advertising for new police applicants in hopes of bolstering the force this year.
The Lorain Police Department has 96 sworn officers right now, but Chief James McCann said he would like to get the force up to 107 officers.
The Police Department will need at least three officers to fill in slots when three others retire this year, McCann said.
In the current roster, seven officers are in training with senior officers, so the effective count is 89 officers and command staff, he said.
McCann said he is hoping for a good pool of candidates who eventually will become the next police officers in Lorain.
“The more taking it, we get better candidates,” he said about the civil service examination.
The city’s official job notice is posted at cityoflorain.org.
Civil service test
The hiring process is expected to last several months.
The city will take police officer applications from Feb. 3 to March 6.
Applications must be delivered in person to the Lorain Civil Service Commission office on the seventh floor of City Hall, 200 W. Erie Ave., Lorain.
There will be two civil service tests to compile one list of police officer candidates.
The tests are 6 p.m., March 10, or 9 a.m., March 14, at the Spitzer Conference Center of Lorain County Community College, 1005 Abbe Road in Elyria.
It appeared to be the first time the city would offer the civil service tests over two days instead of just one, McCann said, adding he was not aware of other police agencies in the county using that method.
When the city schedules the test on just one date, police probably miss some candidates due to work or other commitments, McCann said.
The written test measures candidates’ ability to learn and apply police information; ability to observe and remember details; verbal ability; following directions; and use of judgment and logic.
For the civil service test, applicants receive additional credit for various qualifications such as military service, a bachelor’s or associate degree, living in Lorain for at least a year before the exam, having an Ohio Police Officer Training Academy certificate, full time service in law enforcement or firefighting and having and Ohio firefighter certification.
Applicants must pass with a score of at least 70 to qualify for the physical agility examination.
The endurance tests are scheduled at 9 a.m., March 28, or 9 a.m., April 4, at Lorain City Schools’ George Daniel Field, 2601 Oberlin Ave.
Hiring officers
Once the testing is complete, the applicants are scored and the Lorain Civil Service Commission will certify the list of candidates. When the Police Department is ready to hire, the city safety-service director formally requests the list, which then begins background investigations of the top candidates.
It’s a process that takes months, McCann said.
The Lorain Police Department values diversity and ideally the duty roster would reflect the city, McCann said.
“Our goal, of course, is to try and have a department that’s made up of the same percentage of racial makeup of our city,” he said.
But all candidates must pass the civil service test and background check.
Department officials cannot make exceptions based on gender or ethnicity, the chief said.
“We must provide the best candidates we can for cops in the city of Lorain,” McCann said.
The Police Department must strive to recruit people of all ethnicities, “but we’re not going to bend the rules or lower standards to get people here,” he said.
Law enforcement remains a male-dominated field, McCann said, but more women are finding roles as officers in more police departments.
“If they’re qualified, we welcome that,” McCann said. “Females are starting to get into our field more and more and we welcome that. If they’re qualified and they get their training, they’ll get their shot.”