With thousands of new homes being constructed within city limits, Bowie’s police department is also looking to grow.
They’re hoping to boost the number of officers in the department by about 25% — to 75 total — by the end of the year.
With fewer qualified officers available than departments seeking them, the city hopes a faster hiring process can give it a leg up on other departments.
The Bowie Police Department is holding a one-day hiring event this Saturday to test that theory out.
Whether applicants have never been a cop before or if they work for another department, they will be able to show up to police headquarters at 8:30 a.m. ready to compete the physical agility test. Pass that and you’ll go through the interview process before you leave.
Do well there “and pretty much the rest is going to take about two to three weeks to complete,” said Lt. Anika Howard, who oversees the department’s operations division and is in charge of recruiting.
“Historically, what we have done is conducted the physical agility test, and then you come back a couple weeks later for the interview, and then you get new applicant form to complete,” Howard said.
“We felt maybe if we did an all-in-one kind of thing, it would cut down the time for processing, and we will be able to fast track potential candidates.”
Howard said the Bowie Police Department is hoping to be competitive when it comes to recruiting.
“So if you can get candidates in and … get as much of the hiring process done in one day, then we’re already ahead of the game, because not a lot of agencies do kind of like a one-stop shop for the most part,” Howard said.
She said signing bonuses of $15,000 to $20,000 are being offered too, and anyone working holidays gets paid triple time “which is unheard of,” she noted.
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