LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is welcoming two new officer trainees to its ranks, the latest step the agency is taking to meet staffing challenges.
On Tuesday, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen introduced Dale Hoskins and Andrew Welter to the Lakeport City Council, city management and the community.
In December, Rasmussen took a new approach to staffing up his small department, beginning an extensive recruitment that focused on county residents who were interested in pursuing a law enforcement career locally but who had not attended the police academy.
Rasmussen wanted to find people who planned to stay in Lake County, as recruiting from out of the area has been an ongoing challenge due to salary levels.
Dozens of applications were submitted by the deadline, which was just after the new year, with interviews taking place in January. From that pool, six qualified candidates emerged.
At the beginning of the year, the Lakeport Police Department was budgeted for 11 full-time positions, down from 14 several years ago.
In February, as the officer trainee hiring process was still under way, Rasmussen received the council's approval to add a 12th position for a 15-month period running from this month to June of 2017.
That gave him the ability to hire not just one but two officer trainees in anticipation of upcoming retirements and one possible resignation.
The result was his hiring of Hoskins and Welter – both lifelong Lake County residents who currently reside in Hidden Valley Lake.
Welter, 23, previously worked for the Hidden Valley Lake Association's security division and the Santa Rosa Junior College Police Department in one of its police training intern programs. He currently works part-time for the South Lake County Fire Protection District as a paid call firefighter, Rasmussen said.
Welter was on duty in September when the Valley fire tore through the south county. He is among a group of South Lake County Fire personnel who lost their homes, according to district officials.
Hoskins, 24, has most recently been working as an officer for Lake County Animal Care and Control, having also worked as a county juvenile probation officer, according to Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said the two young men successfully completed the hiring process and their job offers have been made final.
They officially start work with the Lakeport Police Department on March 28, and will go through two weeks of orientation at the police station and city hall, Rasmussen said.
They're scheduled to start the police academy – which Rasmussen told Lake County News will take place in Windsor – on April 2, with graduation to take place Aug. 19.
Rasmussen welcomed them to the city and wished them good luck.
Mayor Marc Spillman came down from the dais to personally welcome both men and shake their hands.
“We're at a crucial point in the city right now,” Spillman told them, adding, “We're glad you're here.”
Rasmussen said earlier this month that he has seven officers on duty, with the equivalent of 2.5 positions off on medical leave.
The short staffing has resulted in the Lakeport Police Department reaching a informal agreement with the California Highway Patrol for backup and assistance with traffic-related incidents in the city, as Lake County News has reported.
Rasmussen also told the council Tuesday that he currently is in the midst of a recruitment for officers who already have police academy training and experience – and who can be on the streets more quickly than the trainees – with that process so far yielding several good candidates.
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