Careers @ SBPD :: South Bend Police.com :: Training & Recruiting ::

The South Bend Police Department has initiated a lateral employment program for qualified full-time sworn law enforcement officers. The premise of the program is to recognize the value of those applicants who have law enforcement experience by providing starting salary/pay incentives commensurate with an applicant’s police/law enforcement experience.

In order to be considered for employment with this agency, applicants must meet all established pre-employment minimum requirements, as well as successfully complete all testing, screening and background screening components. To be eligible for consideration within the lateral entry program, the applicant must have/had powers of lawful arrest and authorized to carry a weapon. We will accept applications on an open and continuous basis from applicants employed within any of the following listed categories of police/law enforcement agencies:

o State/County Sheriff’s Department (does not include those employed exclusively within the area of corrections or detention)

The lateral employment program is outlined as follows.

Any officer (as defined above) who is already certified as a police officer in the state of Indiana, or who recieves a waiver by the Indiana Law Enforcement academy (I.L.E.A.) is entitled to recieve $1000.00

An officer with more than one (1) but less thanthree (3) years experience is entitled to recieve a $1000.00 bonus. Any officer with more than three years as a certified police officer will also be entitled to a $1000.00 bonus.

SPECIALTY POSITION CONSIDERATIONS

Any officer otherwise qualifying/certified in these areas of special expertise will recieve one additional $500.00 bonus:

The Chief of Police will make final determination as to the elegibility of the officer in this regard.

iAll applicants wanting to be considered for the lateral entry program must possess an Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Certification or a State/Federal Certification accepted through the I.L.E.A. Waiver Requirement.

If the officer has paid his/her own expenses to I.L.E.A. and was not reimbursed by any other employer , and was not paid any wages during the I.L.E.A. training, the new officer shall recieve a $2000.00 bonus in addition to the $1000.00 certification bonus.

The calculation for years of service will not include partial/seasonal years of service. Additionally, this does not and will not provide for the lateral transfer of rank or rights to any seniority status.

As outlined above, the maximum total bonus an applicant may qualify for is $3500.00. Elegibility will be considered to be completed after serving six months with the SBPD.

Applicants wanting to be considered for the lateral entry program must meet the requirements of the 1977 Indiana Police and Fire Pension Fund (“PERF”), and be accepted into the Pension Fund.

Out of state applicants and other applicants not currently a member of this fund must have not have reached their 36^th birthday at time of employment.

Another issue of significant importance to applicants considering transferring from one law enforcement agency to another is what training requirements will they be required to complete. Recognizing the importance of this issue to both the applicant as well as the department, the following training requirements have been established for those applicants employed under our lateral program:

For those applicants possessing Indiana Certification and/or Waivers, we will be requiring the successful completion of a Field Training Program lasting approximately 15 weeks, however if the applicant meets the FTO requirements, this training may be accelerated by up to three weeks. In those cases where the department determines that an applicant requires additional training, completion of the regular Field Training Program may be an option.
All applicants accepting employment through this lateral transfer program will be considered “Probationary Officers” for their first year of service.
All applicants accepting employment through the lateral transfer program will be entitled to vacation leave during their first year of employment upon successful completion of the accelerated F.T.O. program:

FALSIFICATION, OMISSION, MISREPRESENTATION, OR DECEPTION IN ANY STAGE OF THE APPLICANT PROCESS WILL RESULT IN YOUR IMMEDIATE REMOVAL FROM CONSIDERATION.

The City of South Bend is an Equal Opportunity Employer.