NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — Helicopters, Humvee and robots were rolled out by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Staff raised the bar Thursday for job recruitment incentives.
If you work for them, you will have some top-of-the-line tools at your disposal, but the department needs people to apply.
"We have just over 100. We've actually you know, we've got people retiring at a normal rate we've actually, we've had a few people leave the department to go try other things and some coming back so the numbers kind of fluctuate but we're just over 100 vacancies right now," said Colonial Matt Perry.
In a press conference, Perry discussed the challenges in recruiting and hiring new trooper applicants.
Perry admits this is a large number of openings; which is why he called on all the divisions of THP to join him in getting the message out that the department needs more troopers.
"They think we stop, stop cars, write citations and work crashes, but we do so much more."
Perry says THP could be ideal for anyone looking for work. For example, anyone who enjoys playing video games could find a place for on the bomb squad.
"The newer versions of these robots actually work off an Xbox controller."
THP says it's more than writing tickets --there's a unit for all interests.
Like Capitol Protection, Criminal Investigations, Critical Incident Response and K-9s. THP says highway crashes and deaths are spiking and the department needs recruits to not only help with the caseloads but offer relief for a stretch staff.
"We all know that that wears over time so that's why we're here today to help bolster our numbers," said Perry.
There's no age restriction to join THP. All you need is to be over 21 and have a clean criminal history. If you are interested in a career as a Tennessee State Trooper, the department is holding a virtual job fair Thursday at 7 p.m.
