New police recruitment propositions heard

More than 20 members of the city including two Corsicana High School students met Thursday morning as part of the Corsicana Crime Commission.

Chief G.M. Cox stated statistics from the March 18 Civil Service examination.

“We had 16 people signed up to take the test, and only seven showed up. Of the seven that actually took the test, two passed,” Cox said.

The second portion of the test, a physical agility test was postponed due to inclement weather and will resume this Saturday.

Cox said recruitment has been a problem, but a recruiting trip to Killeen on March 29 might yield some results.

“This will be good for the department,” he said of the upcoming trip.

The next Civil Service exam is slated for April 22. Cox hopes that there are more interested individuals that will sign up to take the test.

Some of the proposed ways to attract more officers are to change the format of the test, the requirements for the position and offering incentives to new recruits.

“We currently use an ICMA test and we are toying with the idea to change it to a Standard Associate test,” Cox said.

Currently new recruits must not have used any controlled substances within five years. Cox said a lot of the recruits are 21 years old and should not be prevented from employment because of something done in college. The proposition would lower the requirement to two years.

“We will continue to say that no heavy narcotics use period,” he added. Cox defined heavy narcotics to cocaine, methamphetamines and ICE.

One of the most intriguing propositions, according to Cox, are the police academy requirements. Currently one must have graduated or be enrolled in the police academy in order to join the CPD.

Cox proposed that 60 hours of college would take the place of the academy and once on the force, the department would pay the academy fees.

“We are hopefully encouraging more individuals to join,” he said.

If a recruit is already enrolled in the academy, 30 hours of college would be required.

“Now these are just propositions, but I feel they will help the department tremendously in recruitment,” Cox said.

The CPD currently has five openings, with one more opening coming with a retirement after the first of April.

The fight against narcotics is doing well, Cox said. Since the beginning of 2006, there have been 40 people arrested and 85 warrants issued.

“The two high school students agreed that is getting the drugs off the streets,” Cox said.

The new CPD wristbands have been a symbol of backing the police. Cox said the distinct red, white and blue colors make it a unique mark for the department.

The Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking’s those who host, lose the most, campaign received police backing. Cox said with the summer months approaching that the department would try to find underage parties both in the city and in the pastures and disperse them.

New CPD Officer Dan McAninch spoke briefly at the meeting. The University of Texas at Tyler graduate was praised by Cox.

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AJ Narasimhan can be reached via e-mail at ajn@corsicanadailysun.com