Want to make $25 per hour? 4 jobs open in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- The Springfield Police Department has four open positions for police officers, but Chief Jerry Smith says it's been difficult to find qualified applicants.

There are two requirements:

• Two years of college or two years of active duty in the military
• No prior drug use

Smith says the application period opened two weeks ago. So far, they've recieved 45 applications.

"In the last few years, we've noticed a very serious challenge in receiving applicants, getting good people to apply and go through the testing process," Smith says.

Smith says many applicants don't meet the minimum requirements. "When we get into the backgrounds, we're losing a lot of people - most of the times because of drug use," he says.
 
He also says more and more people coming out of the military are heading to other lines of work, not law enforcement.

"A lot of those people have jobs and their just doing their duty through the reserve program so that's not a huge venue for us to seek applicants" Smith says.

Smith says starting pay is $25 per hour with full benefits - more if you have a college degree.

"We encourage anybody whose interested in law enforcement to give it a try, give it a shot," Smith says.

The application period closes Friday.