Olathe Police finding officer recruitment a struggle as city grows

Police departments across the country are struggling to find officers.

In Johnson County, Kan., it’s compounded by the region’s explosive growth.

Some estimates peg the population of Olathe to top 300,000 in the next 20 years. Finding officers to protect all those people is not easy. With over 70 active neighborhood watches, there’s still a strong sense of people looking out for each other. A big piece in keeping the community safe is its police force, and that’s a job that’s growing harder all the time to recruit for.

“We had a recent testing where we only had about 12 people come in and take the test. Fifteen years ago when I was hired, there were five positions and 200 people applied for it,” Olathe Police Sgt. Logan Bonney said.

The Olathe Police Department has got two extra challenges, a lot of officers are hitting retirement age and the city’s growing a ton.

(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)