They serve and protect—and are looking for recruits.
Sergeant Travis House, with the Michigan State Police, says they are looking at losing a “large number of people” over the next couple of years to retirement, and are searching for more people to join in on their mission.
“We’re looking at running a school in September, probably 120 recruits or so, but we’re already looking into filling some schools next year,” House says. “It’s our job to get out there and find good applicants, get them signed up and working through the process.
House says many think his job as a recruiter is simply to get signatures, but he says he takes it differently.
“My job really is to consult with people who would like to apply and make sure they understand what they are getting themselves into,” he says. “Our hiring process is difficult and recruit school is no joke.”
The MSP is looking for recruits that meet certain standards beyond just a clean record, high school diploma and U.S. citizenship.
“What we absolutely require of our candidates is that they have impeccable character and they’ve got to be committed to doing the job,” House says. “Those things will get you through a more than any previous training could have—because our academy is set up to teach you how to be a trooper, but we can’t show you how to have good character.”
For someone who is thinking about becoming a trooper, House says they have to have a willingness to serve to become a member of law enforcement.
“I can tell you what brought me, specifically, to the state police,” House says. “The opportunity for different jobs—the Michigan State Police is a large department and we have 1,800, 1,900 enlisted members. About half of them are doing jobs other than what you see, the blue goose on the road and the troopers driving around. The other half are administration or doing specialty jobs: fugitive apprehension, SWAT, K9, we have our own aviation unit, our own underwater recovery unit…if you get bored as a trooper it’s your own fault.”
For more information about joining MSP, watch the video above or head to their .
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