SIDNEY — The Sidney Police Department is looking to fill vacant officer positions within their department.

“All departments across the United States are struggling to get good, quality candidates. We feel that this is one of the more important things we can do as an administration, is hire good quality people that will represent our core values and work to maintain our vision and mission statement here within the department,” Balling said.

Currently, the department is looking to hire up to four officers. Qualifications for becoming a police officer include:

• High school diploma or GED equivalent;

• Passing a physical examination, polygraph test and psychological test;

• Passing a background check;

• Have a valid driver’s license; and

• Be able to complete or have their certification to be a law enforcement officer in Ohio.

Balling said that if a candidate is selected to become an officer and does not currently have their certification to be a law enforcement officer, the department would send them to the academy and cover the cost of receiving academy training and obtaining their certification. Additionally, a new recruit must be between 21 to 35 years of age — due to state civil service laws, a new hire police officer starting their career in law enforcement cannot be older than 35 years old.

Employment within the Sidney Police Department also presents new hires with many opportunities and pathways to follow in their law enforcement career, such as the tactical response team, to the K-9 unit, to the dispatch center.

“I think the Sidney Police Department has a lot to offer with it. We have such a good relationship with our community, and within the department we have everything that a larger department would have, so we have a lot of opportunities for anyone wanting to apply,” Balling said.

The positions open for new officers has come as many members of the department reach retirement age, and officers within the department are promoted into those vacant positions. This has contributed to the department becoming what Balling considers a younger department — presenting many opportunities for people to grow and make changes within the department as they gain more experience.

Balling said that hiring shortages across the board has presented a challenge for the department to find new candidates for hire, and that the national narrative for police officers has presented more hiring challenges for departments across the country. While Balling doesn’t think that holds true in Sidney, the national trend overall makes it difficult for departments to hire officers.

“I would always encourage anyone who doesn’t have a good opinion of police, to look at it and decide, maybe that’s a profession they would like to do, and they could change it from the inside versus making complaints from the outside,” Balling said.

Anyone interested in applying to work with the Sidney Police Department can contact Balling directly at 937-498-2354 or [email protected], or apply directly online at https://www.sidneyoh.com/Jobs.aspx. Applications close on Dec. 10 at 5 p.m.

“I think we have a wonderful department and a wonderful community for people to work with, and we’d like to see some local people apply. We’d like to have diversity within the department, and we’d like to have local people — people who grew up here or used to live in Sidney — apply for our department,” Balling said.