Local law enforcement agencies are saturating the area with their message – “We are hiring now!” – in continued efforts to fill their ranks.

With the competition for applicants remaining intense, recruiters have altered their tactics and put money into incentive packages and advertising campaigns.

“It’s a regionwide problem as well as a national dilemma,” said Tacoma police Lt. Corey Darlington, who works in the department’s hiring unit. “Like many other agencies, we are finding it a challenge to fill police officer positions.”

Overall, the agencies are filling openings but are still losing ground.

Several agencies talked last weekend to men and women attending the McChord air show, which attracted more than 377,000 people. Tacoma police officers handed out 1,000 recruiting packets over the two days from their spot in Hangar No. 3.

“This has probably been our biggest career fair in the last three years,” Tacoma police Sgt. Dwayne Joseph said. “It was huge. We’ve never gone through that much material before.”

He’s already received a handful of e-mails and phone calls from people who picked up the information. That’s the kind of return agencies are looking for.

Here’s how Tacoma police, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and Washington State Patrol are working to fill their vacancies.

TACOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT

A hiring freeze from November 2001 to January 2003 left the agency with nearly 40 vacancies. It hasn’t been fully staffed for more than a decade. It has eight unfilled positions and expects another eight to 12 officers to retire next year, Darlington said.

To help fill the positions, the City Council allocated $271,000 in the department’s 2008 budget for recruiting efforts. The department also has a new campaign slogan and a slew of new advertisements to help entice candidates.

“This is an improved marketing and ad campaign,” Darlington said.

The ads, with the slogan “A great career in a great city,” feature four Tacoma police officers standing in front of a skyline that shows downtown, the Tacoma Dome and the Thea Foss Waterway.

The ads are on five Pierce Transit buses traversing the county and five Metro Transit buses driving South King County routes, Darlington said. The five-month campaign was launched two weeks ago at a cost of $16,000.

“The buses are circulating the target areas 18 hours a day,” Darlington said. People “are seeing the message repeatedly,” he said.

Billboards are next. Darlington is working to get the ads up around the Tacoma area.

In addition, the department is buying ad space in magazines and setting up booths at local and regional events such as Tall Ships Tacoma, Freedom Fair, the McChord Air Expo and Ethnic Fest.

Recruiters are traveling to the Midwest and Southeast, areas that have seen law enforcement-related layoffs, to look for officers interested in moving to the South Sound.

In a first for the department, recruiters began offering cash incentives to officers in other agencies – known as lateral applicants – earlier this year. The officers can receive a hiring incentive of $7,000 on their first day of work, 40 hours of time off and $2,500 for relocation costs if they are moving from more than 100 miles away.

“It’s a good step to attract lateral officers from other agencies,” Darlington said.

Tacoma officers get two days off if they recruit a lateral officer who completes the hiring process.

Since offering the incentives, the department has hired five lateral officers, including two from Virginia and one from the Seattle Police Department.

PIERCE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT

Sheriff’s recruiters are looking to the military for new deputies and corrections officers.

Each week, they go to Fort Lewis, McChord Air Force Base and Naval Submarine Base Bangor to talk with soldiers, airmen and sailors who are leaving military life and looking for new careers.

“We used to visit now and then,” said Yolanda Barham, a county corrections officer and a recruiter for the department. “We really are pretty much living out there now.”

The strategy seems to be helping after the department saw a decrease in military applications.

“The trick was being a lot more visible out there,” Barham said. “That really makes a difference.”

The department also invested $30,000 on ads on Pierce Transit buses and billboards throughout the county. The ads started last fall and are to go until the end of the year.

Since beginning the new campaign, the department has seen applications increase 65 percent, from 397 in the last quarter of 2007 to 636 in the first quarter of 2008. The number of candidates taking the department’s written test increased to 297 from 147.

The department hired nine corrections officers, who are to start this month. They are looking to hire another 20 to 29 between August and December. The department also hopes to add five to seven deputies by the end of the year, Barham said.

“There are enough agencies for people to chose from,” Barham said. “It just depends on your interest and where you want to live.”

WASHINGTON STATE PATROL

The State Patrol has 45 trooper openings and loses about 48 troopers each year to attrition. It is focusing its recruiting efforts within the state but has shifted its campaign away from just the Interstate 5 corridor.

Recruiters are looking elsewhere because, unlike the Sheriff’s Department, they are seeing fewer applicants from military personnel.

Soldiers are getting bonuses to re-enlist, and the enlistment periods are longer.

“It’s a good thing for the military, but it kind of hinders our process,” Sgt. Johnny Alexander said. “With our agency there is a large portion of our agency that are retired” from the military.

In its first of several targeted recruitment efforts, the State Patrol is blitzing Kitsap County during July with television commercials, radio pitches and print ads. Recruiters also are visiting local colleges.

Troopers will give written exams and conduct oral interviews in the county, another first, on Monday at the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton.

The agency, which spends about $20,000 a month on advertising, is airing radio spots and has recruiting billboards in Fife, banners in Safeco Field and Qwest Stadium, and ads on about 40 buses.

The advertising money runs out in September.

“Then we have to go back to the drawing board,” Alexander said.

The agency is not offering incentives beyond its current pay, benefits and retirement plan. Recruiters do emphasize that troopers can get reimbursed college tuition for classes they take after they are commissioned.

“We are doing a lot of things right now,” Alexander said. “We are really, really trying to get out there.”

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268

blogs.thenewstribune.com/crime

If you’re looking to become a law enforcement officer, you need:

 • A valid state driver’s license.

 • A relatively clean criminal history.

 • A high school diploma or the equivalent.

Each agency has additional minimum requirements for employment.

Tacoma Police Department:

For more information, visit www.tacomapolice.org or call 1-866-812-0107 or 253-591-5520.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Department: For more information, visit www.piercesheriff.org.

Washington State Patrol:

For more information, visit www.wsp.wa.gov or call 360-704-2300.

Number of vacancies: Eight

Total staffing: 387 officers

Recruiting budget: $271,000 for 2008

Response so far: Hired five experienced officers and 17 entry-level officers this year.

Recruiting philosophy: Looking in state and out of state for qualified officers. Accepting applications from officers in other departments and for entry-level positions.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Department

Number of vacancies: Up to seven deputies and 29 corrections officers

Total staffing: 330 deputies and 317 corrections officers

Advertising budget: $30,000

Response so far: Increased number of applicants and people taking initial tests. Nine corrections officers will start this month.

Recruiting philosophy: Emphasis on recruiting military personnel with routine visits to area installations.

Number of vacancies: 45

Total staffing: 1,056

Recruiting budget: About $20,000 a month

Response so far: Every month, gets an average of 150 applicants and administers written tests to 72 candidates. Graduated 47 troopers from its academy in April.

Recruiting philosophy: Focus on in-state residents. Moving away from the Interstate 5 corridor.