The Athens City Police Department is opening its doors to more police officer candidates by extending the age limit.
The Athens Police Department is opening it’s doors to more police officer candidates by extending the age limit.
In November, Athens City Council passed an ordinance that set the age limit for hiring a new police officer to 40-years-old. Athens used to follow the state law limit of 35-years-old, but each municipality has the ability to change the age limit as they see fit. Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said he hopes the age increase will open the door to eligible military veterans.
“We’re hoping for some 20-year military retirees,” Pyle said. “People who joined the military at age 18 and retired after 20 years at age 38, might be viable candidates for us.”
About 3,968 veterans live in Athens County, according to data from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Pyle added that the 14-year window narrowed the hiring pool.
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In 2015, APD hired two new officers under the old age-limit policy. This year, APD hired two more officers under the new policy as well. Pyle said once the newest hires are fully trained, he will need to hire about three more officers to have APD fully staffed.
Other candidates Pyle said he hopes to attract include police officers who worked for another department and are looking for a change of city before they retire.
In Athens, Pyle said his employees deal with physical confrontations with youth, pointing to a possible mismatch of strength between an older officer and a college student.
“Those are things you have to be concerned with,” Pyle said.
Pyle requested the age limit to be changed, prompting Jennifer Galbraith, the human resources manager for the City of Athens, to present the new age limit to Athens City Council.
“We wanted to capture a larger recruitment pool of candidates,” Galbraith said.
After the presentation, city council voted on the change and a new ordinance was established.
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At the city council meeting on Nov. 9, Mayor Steve Patterson, then an at-large councilman, said he supported the age change.
“Having served 23 years (in the military), I know there are so many great people coming out around 38 or so,” Patterson said.
Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, agreed with Patterson at the Nov. 16 meeting.
He said in today’s world, people live longer and are in better health. Cutting the hiring age off at an “arbitrary” age of 35 doesn’t make sense, Risner said.
“This piece of legislation is extremely prudent for helping select good officers to work on our police force,” Patterson said.
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