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City officer candidates will still require prior training

In January, Altoona Police Chief Janice Freehling told City Council at a planning meeting that she hoped to eliminate the requirement that officer candidates be already certified for patrol.

Set by council several years ago to save the city the cost of training recruits, that precertification requirement has greatly reduced the pool from which the department can select new officers.

On Monday, at a planning meeting where department heads reviewed how their January hopes have panned out, Freehling said that unfortunately, she still must retain that certification requirement “until city finances improve and the city can (afford) to send candidates to the (police) academy.”

Years ago, when the city advertised for officer candidates, more than 100 typically came forward, she said in January.

Now, it’s usually about 15, she said.

That number invariably decreases as candidates drop out after taking a physical exam and a written civil service test, then submitting to an interview before the Civil Service Board, followed by a background investigation.

Freehling has two vacancies, and her eligibility list — initially six candidates — is depleted, she said.

One of the problems is a lack of help.

The Municipal Police Officers’ Education & Training Commission once covered 65 percent of academy trainees’ salaries and all their lodging and meals for a course lasting up to 15 weeks, she said.

In time, the course stretched to 20 weeks, and MPOET cut all funding, according to Freehling.

Some of that funding has been restored — MPOET now pays 75 percent of the $4,000 tuition and 45 percent of trainees’ salary — but none for lodging and meals, Freehling said.

If and when the city can again afford to send recruits to the academy, the department will need to work out a new arrangement with the union, increasing the amount of reimbursement that officers must pay if they don’t fulfill a minimum commitment after becoming full-fledged officers, Freehling said.

Currently, that commitment is three years, she said.

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