FISHERS — The Fishers Police Department is hiring and working to diversify their force. The department is working to hire motivated officers and they’re trying to find candidates that represent the community they will serve.
“It is not just the typical white male that you see that makes a good police officer, it's those different backgrounds and different experiences that really makes a good police officer,” Officer Jessica Stout, who has worked with the department for seven years said.
“We just want all groups of people because we serve all groups of people and all walks of life,” Officer Edgar Holmes added. Holmes said he always wanted to be a police officer. He grew up admiring his cousin who worked as an officer in Gary, Indiana. Now he’s doing the same in Fishers.
Holmes explained that working as a police officer is a very rewarding career. Right now, he is working to lead recruitment efforts for the department and recognizes the current make up of the department may not reflect the community they serve.
“I think that we are making strides to get there," Holmes said. "I think we have done a great job over the past couple years trying to make that reflection."
Holmes said the challenge they face is simply finding diverse applicants.
Recently, the department has been turning to social media to let potential applicants know everyone is welcome and they’re working to find out what might be stopping certain groups from applying.
“Whether it's people of color, minorities, or our lesbian and gay community, men, women… you know we really want to show up and serve our community in a way that represents them,” Officer Stout said. “I think that it send a message to our community that we care about who they are, so when we are hiring officers who represent them in our department it shows that we value their culture, we value the people that are in our community, and we want them to feel comfortable.”
If you have any questions about the application process or are interested in joining the Fishers Police Department you can email Officer Holmes at holmese@fishers.in.us.
A link to the application and job description can be found here.
