In the four years since Chief Tommy Moffett was hired, the Vicksburg Police Department has lost more than 60 officers to termination, resignation or retirement.

Thus, the number of sworn patrolmen has decreased from 108 in October 2001 to 75 this month, and the department has struggled to keep its officer level at full strength.

&#8220Every police department is looking for officers,” Deputy Chief Richard O’Bannon said. &#8220As jobs open up, officers migrate closer to home, even if the money is less. Rumors are that some of our young guys are going to be moving closer to home for jobs, which is understandable.”

Seventy-five officers are employed by the Vicksburg Police Department, but officials are looking for 11 more to bring the department’s count to 86. O’Bannon said the numbers will constantly fluctuate.

&#8220Numbers will always change because every police department is looking for people,” he said. &#8220Some might leave for federal jobs, larger cities or specialized units.”

But the constantly changing officer level is not because the police department is not hiring qualified applicants, O’Bannon said.

&#8220I think the quality of people we’ve hired since we’ve been here has been phenomenal,” he said.

The primary reason the Vicksburg Police Department and other departments comparable in size struggle to keep their staffs at full-strength might be competition from other law-enforcement agencies seeking certified officers.

Chief J.D. Sanders of the Columbus Police Department blamed officer shortage on other departments that offer better pay.

&#8220We have an allotment for 84 officers, but we’re down to 74 right now,” Sanders said. &#8220Often, when a police officer has three years’ experience and certification, they are in high demand. For example, an officer can leave here and go to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and start making $3,000-$5,000 more right off the bat.”

The starting salary for a Columbus patrolman is $25,600, compared to $26,000 for a Vicksburg patrolman.

Complicating the Columbus Police Department’s efforts to shore up its staff is the fact its demographics must mirror those of the community, Sanders said.

&#8220State and national accreditation programs require the department’s demographic makeup to mirror that of the community,” he said. &#8220We’re working toward trying to get the number of our minority employees to reflect numbers in our community.”

To achieve that goal, they must recruit well, Sanders said.

&#8220What people don’t understand is that it costs about $70,000-$100,000 to recruit and train people, which takes two to four months,” he said. &#8220We’re working with Mississippi State and the Mississippi University for Women to recruit, and we target minorities at other departments.”

Recruiting at the Vicksburg Police Department is more intense, O’Bannon said. It spends tens of thousands of dollars annually advertising in newspapers from Memphis to New Orleans, and in Louisiana, on the Web at officer.com and on radio. It also participates in school career days and job fairs.

But when recruitment ends, the testing process begins, and that is where many applicants drop out of the application process, O’Bannon said.

Applicants must pass physical agility tests and written tests before undergoing background checks, polygraph exams and psychological tests.

&#8220Then a job might be offered, but is contingent upon the applicant passing a physical and drug screen,” O’Bannon said. &#8220It all could take three or four months, and that is why some applicants just drop out.”

Finally, officers must attend the Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy for 10 weeks in their first year on the job to obtain certification.

&#8220And that is ridiculous,” Sanders said. &#8220The application process shouldn’t take that long.”

But it can take that long, and other police departments in Mississippi have the same policies for processing applicants.

&#8220Our applicants must pass a physical agility test, standardized exam, polygraph exam, oral interview and personality and psychological exams and finally the police academy,” Clinton Police Chief Don Byington said.

The Clinton Police Department employs 50 officers, who start at $25,000. Recruitment is nearly non-existent.

&#8220We have, in the past, tried to recruit at colleges,” Byington said. &#8220But we mostly do word-of-mouth. We are just now considering lateral transfers for certified officers.”

Southaven Police Chief Tom Long said that city’s police department, which employs 84 officers, already uses lateral transfers in its recruitment process.

&#8220We do an awful lot of lateral transfers,” Long said. &#8220When we have openings, probably 85 percent of officers will be from lateral transfers.”

Patrolmen start at $35,000, Long said. That is $4,000 more than a patrolman can earn in his first year with the Vicksburg Police Department, after performance and education incentives.

&#8220But I am working on some things now to see if I can get them some more money,” O’Bannon said.

Under the guidance of Moffett, the city adopted a quarterly evaluation pay system for police officers and set a new pay scale.

Under that new system, a first-year patrolman can make a maximum base pay of $31,000 annually plus incentives for education and physical fitness. The highest ranking officer under the chiefs, a captain, can make up to $42,700 plus other incentives. The department’s annual payroll is $4,253,480.

In Pascagoula, the police department employs 54 officers and is looking to hire five more. Patrolmen start at $24,500.

&#8220We really don’t recruit because we haven’t had to in the last few years,” Capt. Eddie Stewart said. &#8220At times, we send out e-mails and advertise in local papers. In the past 10 years, we have lateral-transferred a lot of officers.”

The next civil-service exam for Vicksburg police applicants is scheduled for January. To apply, candidates must be 21 and have clean criminal and traffic records.