Gastonia Police looking across state lines to recruit officers

GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – The Gastonia Police Department is recruiting across state lines.

Chief Trent Conard is offering up thousands of dollars in hopes that officers from the Palmetto State will make North Carolina home.

Fifteen thousand dollars is a big chunk of money, and Chief Conard hopes it’ll be enough to entice South Carolina officers to come work in his department.

“In this day and time, I think everybody can use and it is a good amount of money,” he said.

It’s the largest law enforcement sign-on bonus in North Carolina history and it’s offered in Gastonia. What started as an incentive for officers within North Carolina to transfer to the department is now stretching across state lines.

“We’ve got a lot of good officers, high-quality officers that South Carolina has to offer,” said Conard. “I would say South Carolina is probably the closest as far as mirroring what our training and standards in North Carolina require.”

Since starting the $15,000 incentive for North Carolina officers about three months ago, the department has gotten 16 applications.

“I thought that it’d be we would have a lot more interest, but it’s slowly, it’s slowly coming around,” said the Chief.

Four officers have joined the team and there are about 27 sworn positions open.

“Years ago, we were able to turn people away left and right to get that high, high, high quality,” said Conard. “We’re still looking for that high quality. We don’t want to settle for anything less.”

Now, South Carolina officers can get in on the extra cash. If they relocate to Gastonia, they get an extra $1,500, bringing the total to $16,500.

Chief Conard said in a time when it’s hard to recruit, it’s important to find and retain people who’ve worn the uniform before.

“If you get an officer from another jurisdiction, you know, that’s got multiple years of law enforcement, then they’re going to be able to make a bigger impact quicker,” he said.

Chief Conard said he’s had leaders in surrounding areas call him and give him a hard time because this sign-on bonus is hard to compete with. Queen City News did reach out to several police departments in South Carolina to get their reactions. None wanted to comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.