NDHP looking to hire 9 new troopers across the state

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - What once used to attract 500-600 applications for a job with North Dakota Highway Patrol, now only garners a few dozen as the interest in police work continues to decline across both the country and here locally. Experts say they don’t see that pattern changing any time soon.

Nine positions currently sit open across North Dakota, including one in Fargo; waiting for the next best troopers to hit the roads.

Capt. Bryan Niewind says while nine open spots doesn’t seem like much, it’s about 10 percent of their staff.

“It just puts a burden on other troopers to pick up those late night or early morning shifts or just even picking up some of that on-call stuff because we always have someone available to respond,” Niewind said.

As an incentive to get new faces through the door and beat the current hiring challenges, Niewind says NDHP is currently offering sign-on bonuses up to $5,000. He says while the agency has only received about 60 applications, they’re still finding great employees.

Niewind says the main difference between working for highway patrol compared to a police or sheriff’s department is the amount of freedom troopers have each day.

“Those officers often times are going call to call to call. You’re more reactive. Within our agency we’re more proactive,” he said. “When you start your day, we might give you an idea of what your expectation is or this is where we’d like you to work today, but what you do each day is what you control. You’re your own boss for the majority of your days.”

More than half of the open positions are on the western part of the state, Niewind says. However, he assured just because you start on one side of the state, that doesn’t mean you will be stuck there.

“I started in Medina and I was there 6 months until I could transfer to Valley City where I wanted to be. It’s very typical within our organization. You’re not going to be somewhere you don’t want to be for years on end. It’s within that first one or two years we’ll transfer you somewhere you want to be,” Niewind said.

Niewind emphasizes you don’t need to have a law enforcement background in order to apply, rather just a four-year degree or 60 college credits and two years of work experience.

“We have people who are teachers, they have biology degrees, they were nurses before this,” Niewind said. “This is a job for those who want to help and be part of their communities.”

For more information or to apply, click here.