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Fayette PD will sponsor new officer training

Posted 6/29/21

The Fayette Board of Aldermen gave unanimous approval for the police department to pay for academy training for new officers with a contracted term of service.

Police Chief David Ford presented …

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Fayette PD will sponsor new officer training

Posted

The Fayette Board of Aldermen gave unanimous approval for the police department to pay for academy training for new officers with a contracted term of service.

Police Chief David Ford presented the idea before the city council. The council granted final approval at its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 22.

The cost for a cadet to attend the police academy is $5,250. Other departments often have similar programs to recruit officers.

“I think it’s going to be a good tool for us to have,” said Chief Ford. 

Like many rural police departments, Fayette’s has encountered difficulty when trying to hire new officers, mainly due to lower wages compared to those in larger cities such as nearby Columbia. 

“My experience has been that a lot of police departments do this,” said Fayette Mayor Kevin Oeth, who worked in the Columbia Police Department for 12 years.

The city council recently voted to expand the department to eight officers. So far, seven have been hired while one position remains vacant.

Under Fayette’s new program, once a cadet completes training at the police academy, Fayette will reimburse the new officer upon signing a contract for three years of service. Should the officer leave early, he would have to pay back the city at a prorated cost.

Chief Ford said that a program such as this would have been a major benefit when he entered the police academy. “That was quite a bit of money for me. If that would have been reimbursed to me when taking this job…it would have been a windfall for me.

“Most of these people are young, fresh out of school or college. That’s quite a bit of money for young cops.”

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