MINOT, ND ( KXNET ) — Police officers are the first to respond to a crisis in the community, but police departments across the country are still seeing a noticeable shortage of officers.

The Minot Police Department is one agency that has had to deal with the ongoing officer shortage.

According to the Minot PD supervisor, Minot PD currently has 10 to 12 officer vacancies. Making it harder for current officers on the force to take time off which often results in working longer hours.

Minot PD says the problem with staffing is a problem that strains every law enforcement agency.

“It’s obviously a local trend for us, but it’s nationwide. Every agency is struggling, every agency is not able to fill a full manning, and if they are, they are very lucky,” said Lt. Shawn Wegner, a patrol supervisor.

Minot PD says that in an average hiring cycle, they only get about half the amount of applicants to cover open vacancies.

This has become a common trend in North Dakota as over 57 different departments across the state are looking to fill vacancies, according to ND New Cooperative , but Minot PD says replacing applicants is not an easy or fast process.

“Every time we lose an officer, it takes several months to replace them through the hiring process, through the training process, before they can actually be counted towards our personnel shortages,” said Lt. Wegner.

If you or someone you know is interested in joining the Minot Police Department you can visit this website . Minot PD will be conducting its next round of physical and written tests for applicants on October 24 and 25.

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