Las Vegas police looking to hire, increase patrols to battle uptick in crime

The Metropolitan Police Department is aiming to significantly increase the number of uniformed officers in its force this year, department officials said.

The department is looking to hire at least 360 new police officers and at least 100 new corrections officers. Metro has held information sessions around the Las Vegas Valley to get the word out to job seekers.

Officer Larry Douglas, a recruiter for the department, recently addressed a dimly lit room of seven people at Workforce Connections in Las Vegas about the need to hire new officers.

“I want to take my daughter to the park,” he told the group. “I want her to feel safe. It’s not unreasonable.”

Douglas spoke to the group about the physical, mental and academic requirements to become an officer.

The seven-year veteran of the force said the upswing in the economy has provided an opportunity for Metro to catch up with replenishing its force.

“Our goal now is to get as much face time as we can with people,” he said.

The department has held two information sessions in tandem with Workforce Connections and is considering a third. To give job seekers a taste of what it takes to get through the academy, Metro and Workforce Connections offered a nine-hour “boot camp” on June 25. Individuals experienced the physical and academic demands of the academy.

Douglas said that nearly 200 of the open positions for police officers and nearly 60 of the open positions for corrections officers have been filled.

Mishalai Slayton, 35, said she has had an interest in law enforcement since high school. She attended the June 9 information session and plans to apply as a corrections officer.

Slayton said she is confident in her ability to perform the physical and verbal parts of the application process but is worried about the third portion of the process.

“I think that the written part will be my most difficult part,” she said.

Douglas said personnel are needed all over the valley and that the goal in hiring so many new officers is not just to increase patrols in places such as Summerlin, which have experienced recent upticks in crime.

“You never know where the spikes in crime are going to be,” he added.

Visit lvmpd.com. For more on Workforce Connections, visit nvworkforceconnections.org.

Contact View intern reporter Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Find @BlakeApgarLV on Twitter.