BANGOR, Maine — The Portland Police Department is holding an in-person hiring event from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, at its headquarters stationed in the plaza at 109 Middle St.
A spokesperson with the department said the event requires no pre-registration.
Hiring police officers has gotten more and more challenging. The department wants to highlight that while the job is not for everybody, it's a rewarding job where you get to serve your community.
The Police Department is accepting applications for entry level and fully-certified lateral police officers. The department is looking to hire 10 officers to attend the January 2022 Maine Criminal Justice Academy, which lasts for 18-weeks and is a residential program.
David Argitis has been an officer for the department for more than 15 years. He shares with NEWS CENTER Maine that the initial hiring process is extensive and can take three to four months to complete. Thwn, once hired, officers attend an 18- week police academy followed by a 14-week field training program.
Argitis studied law and was for many years a criminal justice attorney, he decided to swtich gears and go into policing and do that role to better understand what was happening out on the field.
"And now that you are on the streets, what do you think throughout the years that this job has given you?" reporter Hannah Yechivi asked Argitis
"A greater perspective on different people and the circumstances they encounter, the challenges they encounter, especially in areas of mental health, immigrants that come into this country, the challenges they face, learning a lot about different cultures that they may not encounter in my every day life, and just how brief and fragile life can be. You see a lot of death and injury and things like that, and none of us are impermeable to that," Argitis said.
Regarding the telecommunicator positions, the Portland Regional Communications Center (PRCC) which works out of the Portland Police Department, provides emergency and non-emergency dispatch for Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services for the communities of Portland, South Portland, and Cape Elizabeth.
"My staff will take that call, enter the details, the address of the emergency, the name, phone number, any pertinent details, and then begin a response based on that information dispatching police, fire, or EMS," Alex Mumford, director of emergency communications, said. "Without telecommunicators, without 911 dispatchers, the whole public safety machine falls down. It's the vital link between the public, the person in distress or trouble, and the person that is going to go and respond to them."
Dispatchers answer 911 and non-emergency phones. After becoming proficient in this role, the next step is to train on the radio as a Police or Fire-EMS dispatcher.
The salary for a new dispatcher is $23.12 an hour after a six-month probationary period.
“Telecommunicators are highly trained professionals who are the ears and voice of public safety,” Mumford said. "As the first- first responder, they provide life-saving instructions over the phone and coordinate responses with police, firefighters and medics.”
Both roles are offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus, with a five year commitment, to new employees.
Click here for more information and more details on the positions.