Wanted: Experienced police officers

North Charleston Police Department's latest "Wanted" poster is not for hardened criminals. It's for more cops on the beat.

The agency has 24 police officer openings to fill over the next nine months and plans to advertise inside and outside the state to recruit new members with a unique weapon — a 15 percent hiring bonus for certified officers with at least one year of experience.

"We think this hiring bonus will help meet our needs," Police Chief Jon Zumalt said. "It's always been a challenge getting our positions filled."

The department has not had a full force of officers since Zumalt became top cop in 2001.

The department has nine vacancies now, city Personnel Director Bob Connella said. In addition, City Council added 15 new police officers in the newly adopted spending plan that runs through next June.

Those 15 positions will become available in three installments, with five each in October, January and April. The additions will give the city about 325 sworn officers.

"This is unique," Zumalt said. "We are doing promotions to get the word out. We will take officers from other states if they have comparable experience."

The department plans to advertise in local and regional newspapers and trade journals as well as recruiting brochures.

"We are trying to get the word out about the hiring benefits within our department," the chief said.

Council had originally discussed the bonus as paid on an entry-level salary but changed it to say the bonus payment will be calculated by determining the total amount of wages paid to the employee including regular and over- time pay during the bonus period.

The entry-level salary for a police officer in North Charleston is $32,429, Connella said. A 15 percent bonus would boost the salary by nearly $5,000 and put the city on an equal footing with the city of Charleston, which pays entry-level police officers about $38,000 a year.

The chief said he is not losing officers to other jurisdictions but they move or take another job outside of law enforcement.

Half the bonus will be paid after six months of satisfactory performance and the rest after one year of employment. Those who receive the bonus must work for the city at least two years.

The city's bonus program does not apply only to police officers and could be applied to any department that has vacancies going unfilled for a certain amount of time.

"It will be reviewed quarterly," Connella said.

Reach Warren Wise at 745-5850 or wwise@post andcourier.com.