Tuscaloosa Police hosting job fair to help fill openings

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) -The Tuscaloosa Police Department is gearing up for a major job fair, one it hopes will go a long way in filling scores of openings for police officers.

The job fair will be on Wednesday, March 30 beginning at 4 p.m. at the River Market. The timing is significant because it comes just weeks after city leaders approved some major bonuses.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department has 33 openings but recruiter Devon Nichols is realistic.

Sgt. Nichols says he would be pleased if he could land at least 10 prospective applicants during the job fair on March 30. Nichols believes he may have a good shot in doing so.

Tuscaloosa city leaders recently signed off on a $5,000 bonus for new hires spread out over three years and a take-home vehicle mixed in. In fact, according to Sgt. Nichols, the department has already gotten a few inquiries days before the job fair.

“Yes, we’ve seen a significant increase as far as people reaching out to me and we had a boost of applicants from our last test,” said Sgt. Nichols.

“We’ll have officers there of every rank there,” said Assistant Police Chief Heath Clark.

Clark acknowledges police work isn’t for everyone. It’s inherently a dangerous job but also an opportunity to serve and help people.

“Rarely a day goes by a citizen doesn’t thank us for what we do and showing us how much they appreciate us. We see what goes on in other places,” said Clark.

As far as what they’re looking for in a candidate...

“Somebody that wants to do things for other people. We do everything from vehicle pursuits, foot pursuits to changing car tires,” Clark said.

Assistant Chief Clark and Sgt. Nichols say the police department typically conducts one job fair a year. Depending how this one goes next week, they could do a few more.

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