MERIDIAN, Idaho — Idaho State Police (ISP) are looking for dedicated men and women to serve and protect the citizens of Idaho.
ISP’s Deputy Director Lt. Colonel Bill Gardiner told KTVB, they only hire troopers one to two times each year because it takes several months to train the troopers. However, this year - like so many other agencies and businesses, they are looking to hire more individuals than usual.
“People come here because they love their community, but specifically they love their state,” Gardiner said.
From now through Feb. 27, ISP is looking to hire 25 troopers for positions across the Gem State.
“You do have a lot of people retiring right now, there were a lot of people who retired during the pandemic, so that was a lot of the reasoning and there are a handful of people moving to other agencies,” Gardiner said.
Gardiner said they are looking for people with a clean background, folks who like being outside and not stuck behind a desk every day and good decision makers.
“Law enforcement in general and specifically state troopers, they have a lot of autonomy," Gardiner said. "They get to make decisions every day that heavily impact a person’s life.”
Gardiner added that a background in law enforcement is not necessary.
“You don’t have to have the experience, I just need that desire from somebody. I can teach you how to be a state trooper,” Gardiner said. “As far as pay and those kind of things, it's kind of a step program. So, we start people off between $25 and $26 an hour based on your experience, but as you move throughout your career, those numbers increase. The more training you get, if you bring a college degree with you, we pay more for that, if you're a Spanish speaker, we pay more for that, so, there are different things that can influence your pay as you move up.”
Last month, Idaho Gov. Brad Little outlined his priorities in his state of the state, which included more funding for law enforcement in his proposed budget.
“The governor is very supportive of law enforcement,” Gardiner said.
KTVB reached out to the governor's office. A spokesperson said if passed, some of that funding would go toward the hiring of more troopers and staff.
“We're hopeful that it'll make it through and there's no doubt that it'll have a significant impact on the people in that area,” Gardiner said.
Gardiner went on to say if potential applicants are concerned about the national narrative when it comes to law enforcement, they should not be.
“I have had more people show support than ever before in my 25 years as a state trooper,” Gardiner said. “It is an absolute honor to be one of Idaho’s state troopers. Nobody comes into law enforcement thinking they're going to make millions of dollars, it just doesn’t happen … We pride ourselves in that there are only 50 state police agencies in the country and we are one of them.”
The application period is open until Feb. 27. Interested individuals can apply here.
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