EVANSTON — According to the Wyoming Information Analysis Team (WIAT), nearly every city and county in Wyoming is advertising to hire law enforcement officers, and Evanston is no exception. Evanston Police Department (EPD) Chief Mike Vranish and Lt. Ken Pearson recently spoke to the Uinta County Herald to express the need for officers — especially female and bi-lingual candidates.

“While law enforcement can be a dangerous and thankless job, in this community, it is much safer than many other professions,” Chief Vranish, who has 27 years of law enforcement experience, said. “The community is also far kinder and appreciative of us. I would worry if one of my close family members were to get into law enforcement in some of our large cities.”

A fully-staffed Evanston Police Department would have 26 full-time officers, but they are currently down three patrol officers. They staff a minimum of two patrol officers on duty 24/7.  The breakdown of officers in the EPD are: chief, a patrol lieutenant, an investigations lieutenant, four patrol sergeants, two detectives, two resource officers, a task force officer and an IT sergeant.

The department also includes a victim witness coordinator, an evidence custodian, records custodian, animal control officer and an animal shelter officer.

According to Wyoming State Statute, the requirements for law enforcement employment are: must be a U.S. citizen and 21 years of age; must be a high school graduate or possess evidence of an equivalent achievement and possess a valid driver’s license.

The applicant cannot have a conviction for any crime(s) punishable by imprisonment in a federal or state correctional facility, or be prohibited from possessing a firearm. They must be subjected to a thorough background investigation, medical examination and comprehensive psychological test. All tests are conducted at no cost to the applicant.

This is just the beginning of an extensive interview process that begins with picking up an application at EPD at 1148 Front Street or online at www.evanstonwy.org. Once the application is filled out it can be turned in at City Hall or at EPD.

The applicant will then meet EPD Officers at the Evanston Recreation Center to do a preliminary physical fitness test, which consists of six events: resting heart rate, resting blood pressure, three-minute step test, one minute push-up test, one minute sit up test, and a one-and-a-half-mile run.

The applicant must achieve 40 percentile in each category assessed or accumulate a 50% average in all categories assessed. To find requirements go to www.wleaacademy.com and click on Fitness Standards tab). This test is given at no cost to the applicant.

Vranish said, “Most young people today, 77% in fact, would not qualify for the physical fitness requirements.”

If they do pass, there will be a formal interview with a five-person interview board, followed by an interview with the chief and, finally, taking the National Police Officer Selection written test given at the local BOCES.

The background investigation may take two to four weeks to complete and will involve interviews with references, relatives, friends, co-workers, employers, etc. to establish work history, credit history, any criminal records, military history and any drug use.

After hiring, the new recruit has a probationary period of one year from date of employment and will attend the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas for 13 weeks, which must take place within the first year of employment. This training is at no cost to the recruit, who will also continue to receive pay and benefits while attending.

“If an applicant has already been certified in Wyoming, we can hire them immediately,” Vranish said. “If they have been certified in another state, we can hire them, and they will need to attend the academy for two weeks.”

New recruits will be assigned to a Field Training Officer for a three-month training program, which may be extended if necessary. The training will be conducted in three phases and the recruit will be evaluated and tested during each phase.

Once a recruit has reached this final stage, the community has invested over $80,000 into them as a result of wages and benefits during training, the cost of pre-employment background checks and tests, the cost of uniforms, vests, equipment and the cost of transportation while attending academy.

Vranish outlined the advantages of working for the EPD.

“Working for a small law enforcement agency has many advantages,” he said. “We are far more family-oriented, have a stronger feeling of belonging, and the positive things our officers do can have a greater impact. Unfortunately, I think many potential candidates also shy away from better communities such as ours. I think we fall short of being able to truly serve a huge segment of our population. We really need more female officers and Spanish-speaking bi-lingual officers. We often encounter victims that either don’t feel comfortable talking with a male officer or have a difficult time communicating in English. If anyone is interested in law enforcement, come to talk to us.”