Paid to train: Hickory police recruits receive salary before being sworn in

HICKORY, N.C. — As police departments across the country grapple with staffing shortages, one local department is now paying for schooling and giving recruits a salary while they go through training.

The Hickory Police Department is making the offer in hopes of filling 14 openings that have left the department short-staffed.

Despite offering what it says is the highest starting salary for law enforcement in the county, officer retirements have left the department with a void.

When hiring, not only is the department competing against other law enforcement agencies in the area, but James Kerley, a lieutenant with Hickory police, said the pool of applicants has declined in recent years.

“It is not unique to Hickory PD, it is a nationwide issue,” Kerley told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty. “Some of it, I think, would be the climate surrounding a police officer and the profession.”

Dustin Reinheardt is a trainee with Hickory police. He said the department’s extra financial support allowed him to fulfill his lifelong dream.

“Very crucial, especially with having three kids,” Reinheardt said. “I still wanted to make the dream happen. (I was) very adamant about doing that, and Hickory has been very helpful along the way. … Especially paying for me through school.”

>>> In the video at the top of this page, Channel 9′s Dave Faherty explores the financial incentive and how its helping the Hickory Police Department fill its needs.

(WATCH BELOW: Local law enforcement feeling the sting of staffing shortages)