SIDNEY — The search is one for three new officers for the Sidney Police Department.

“We will be hiring three brand new officers this year,” said Chief Will Balling. “One will replace Detective Scott Roomes, pending his retirement. The other two will be two additional officers who will replace officers who were cut several years ago.”

The department currently is authorized to have 38 sworn officers, 11 dispatchers and three support staff members. With the hiring of the two new officers, the department will be at 38 officers, said Balling.

“With the addition of the two officers, the department can start being proactive in the community,” said Balling. Issues the two officers will help with, he said, is the fight against heroin usage and becoming involved in community activities.

“I want to get every officer out to events in the community, whether it’s a graduation ceremony or a new business opening,” he said. “We want to continue to build our bond with the community.”

The heroin epidemic, said Balling, is a huge problem in the city. He’d like to see education classes started to prevent heroin usage; do follow-ups with those who have overdosed and provide assistance for those who are addicted to get off heroin.

“If we can get the people off heroin, there will be less fire runs,” said Balling. “And less families in turmoil. There will be less calls for thefts.”

The new officers, said Balling, will need to meet the four core values of the department: professionalism, integrity, courage and compassion.

“The person will want to be in law enforcement for the right reason — to help our community,” said Balling.

Balling said he is looking a diverse pool of applicants for the three positions.

“I want to have a diverse department,” said Balling. “I want the applicants to be from all backgrounds, all races and both men and women. I want the best pool of people we can draw from.”

Balling said he is encouraging people of different races to apply for the jobs.

“I’d also like to encourage females to apply,” said Balling. “I want to hire the best people I can.

“Anyone we hire this year will be key to our department for years to come,” he said.

New hires, said Balling, will have the opportunity to join the SWAT team, be a K9 officer, detective or community resource officer after they have been with the department for several years.”

Each candidate, he said, must meet the minimum qualifications for the position. The deadline to apply is March 10, 2017. Each person must complete and submit the city of Sidney application for employment along with a copy of their high school diploma, copy of DD-214 for veterans credit (if applicable) and copy of Peace Officers certification for the state of Ohio (if applicable).

The candidate must also register for the National Testing Network, complete their application and personal history questionnaire and take the test prior to March 10.

The testing period with the National Testing Network (NTN), said Balling, began Jan. 9 and will continue through March 10. To fill our an NTN application and schedule a written test, the candidate should go to www.nationaltestingnetwork.com and select Law Enforcement and sign up for the Sidney Police Department.

Each candidate must register and complete the personnel history questionnaire prior to reporting to the testing facility. The closest testing facility to Sidney is Edison Community College in Piqua and Sinclair Community College in Dayton. The candidate can take the test at any authorized NTN testing facility.

Testing dates at Edison Community college are Jan. 24, 4 p.m.; Feb. 11, 9 a.m.; and March 8, 4 p.m. Testing dates at Sinclair Community College are Jan. 17, 2 and 6 p.m.; Jan. 31, 2 and 6 p.m.; Feb. 7, 2 and 6 p.m.: Feb. 21, 2 and 6 p.m.; and March 7, 2 and 6 p.m.

The cost of the test, said Balling, is $49, which is paid by the applicant. The candidate also has the option of sending the test results to multiple participating cities or agencies for an additional $9.50 fee.

The city of Sidney follows all Ohio Civil Services laws, which means each candidate must pass all three parts of the National Testing Network test with a minimum of 70 percent to move forward in the process. They can receive additional credit for prior military experience and by already holding Ohio Peace Officer certification issue by the OPOTA. The credit will be applied to candidates who pass all portions of the NTN test.

If a candidate does not have the Ohio Peace Officer certification, they will attend the Ohio Highway Patrol Academy for training. The person will be a city of Sidney employee while going through the training.

A city of Sidney application for the position is available at http://www.sidneyoh.com/Human_Resources/Employment-sidney-ohio.asp.