The Toledo Police Department is recruiting for its next academy class of 40 officers, and the city is offering to pay the testing fee for any local residents who want to apply.
The voucher is part of an effort to increase diversity and hire more officers from the neighborhoods they will serve by removing potential barriers, like the $55 National Testing Network fee that must be paid before applicants can take a required qualifying exam.
“Obviously we want people from our city to represent our city, and that is just one other way to help citizens who want to be a police officer to achieve that goal,” police spokesman Lt. Paul Davis said of the voucher.
Testing must be completed by Nov. 30 to be considered for the June, 2022 academy. To receive a voucher, applicants must email Kelly.murphy@toledo.ohio.gov and provide proof of residency.
The push for applicants comes after Police Chief George Kral said this summer the department was struggling to find qualified candidates to fill 50 seats in its upcoming academy, which starts in October.
“It’s just that challenging in this country to get qualified people who want to put themselves in this profession,” he told Toledo City Council during a Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform committee meeting July 28, stressing that the number of officers being shot or becoming “the next viral video” is turning applicants away.
He called on those complaining about community-policing to “step up” to be the change they want to see.
“It’s easy to say, ‘Well, the police are bad, they didn’t do this, they didn’t do that.’ OK, well join,” Chief Kral said. “Help me fix it.”
The department ultimately was able to extend conditional offers of employment to 50 candidates for its October class, Lieutenant Davis said, though he couldn’t say how many of them are from Toledo.
One woman taking the chief up on his offer for the June class, though, is Doris Alaegbu.
She’s originally from Nigeria but has lived in Toledo since 2017, and said it’s her dream to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On her way there, she’d like to be a Toledo police officer.
“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity,” she said, noting that she will become age-eligible when she turns 21 next month. “I want to help the country and also to get justice for people.”
She already applied but said she’s now working on scheduling her test to qualify.
Ms. Alaegbu isn’t part of the criminal justice program at Owens Community College, but Michael Pfahl, dean of the School of Business, Hospitality Management, and Public Safety, said there’s no shortage of eager youth like her.
“The students are still coming to us despite all of the pressures put on policing today,” he said, noting that enrollment remains consistent at 15-25 students per class. “I wish we could handle four to five times as many cadets as we do.”
The program boasts a 90 percent placement rate after graduation, but Mr. Pfahl says not every cadet chooses to apply Owens training in Toledo. The Columbus and Dayton police departments also are recruiting its graduates, he said.
The college recently partnered with the city, TPD, Toledo Public Schools, and the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department, though, on a new instructional program meant to recruit more residents into local safety service careers and keep them here.
Through the PS419 program, TPS students interested in becoming firefighters or police officers can receive both high school and college credit for pertinent classes, graduate with basic EMT certificates, and be paired with mentors from their chosen fields.
“Potential cadets are coming to us with a strong interest to serve their communities and to be a positive force in them,” Mr. Pfahl said.
To apply for the 2022 police academy class, applicants must be between the ages of 21 and 39 and pass the qualifying exam.
First Published September 26, 2021, 8:00 p.m.
