Michigan State Police plan to hire more troopers

4-7-2012 Michigan:

180 Michigan State Police troopers to be hired

OAK PARK, Mich. - We’re hiring: That’s the word from the Michigan State Police.

As part of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's initiative to help reduce crime in Michigan's four most violent cities (Saginaw, Flint, Pontiac and Detroit) 180 new troopers are being recruited.

Snyder is spending $15 million to recruit, train and hire the new troopers. It is a major component of his overall plan to reduce crime which includes hiring more techs for the crime labs and spending millions on a summer jobs program for at-risk youth.

The first recruiting class will start in June. MSP is looking for qualified applicants right now. There is a civil service test, agility test and background check. Those who make it through get invited to attend a live-in recruit school which will be no walk in the park.

“We have you from Sunday to Friday. It’ is long days with a lot of work from dawn until dark,” said MSP Sgt. Paul DiPietro.

When the new recruits come on board it will boost state police numbers to more than 1,000. Those are staffing levels not seen since 2001. The majority of the new recruits will be deployed to the Interstate 75 corridor to assist in those four cities suffering from crime problems.

Troopers won’t just be running radar but going into these cities if needed.

"Sometimes just seeing that blue patrol car is a deterrent," DiPietro said. ..Source.. by ClickOnDetroit