AKRON, Ohio - The city of Akron is reopening its police training academy to attract more recruits and build a more diverse police department.
Akron Police Chief Kenneth Ball, Fire Chief Clarence Tucker and Director of Human Resources Donald Rice presented the changes to Akron City Council’s Public Safety committee on Monday.
The city will reestablish Akron’s Peace Officer Basic Training Academy for new recruits, and raise the age of applicants from 35 to 40 years old, Rice told the committee. Akron’s academy was closed in 2008.
The Akron Fire Department will also raise the age limit of applicants from 31 to 35 and a hold a training class for new firefighters this year, he said.
Police cadets previously trained for 24 weeks without pay at academies hosted by other communities. At the Akron academy, recruits will now be paid $26.22 per hour during training, Rice said.
Recruiting more minorities will be more representative of the Akron community, said At-large Councilwoman Veronica Sims. “I’m grateful that we’ve heard the discussions that we’ve all been having for quite some time,” she said.
Marilyn Keith, Ward 8, said the move is a “step in the right direction” for expanding diversity and relaunching an Akron academy will likely result in higher quality candidates.
The academy’s largest expense will be paying the new salaries, Ball said. Training, munitions and vehicle maintenance and mileage will also cost money, he said.
Some costs can be offset by training officers for surrounding municipalities, which pay for the officer training, he said. Some money will come from Issue 4.
Issue 4 is an income tax increase Akron voters approved in 2017 to pay for improvements to roads, as well as the police and fire departments.
The Akron Police Department has conducted surveys of academy graduates over the years, Ball said. More than 90 percent of those surveyed said more candidates would be interested in working for Akron Police if the city had its own academy. More than 80 percent said training without pay created a financial burden, he said.
Because recruiting for safety forces is difficult, the department has been looking at ways to better position Akron to new recruits, he said.
“We looked at every single impediment that exists in our process to try to get better and these are the ones that were available to us right now,” Ball said.
The next entrance exam for Akron police will take place in April. Rice asked the committee members and “everyone within the sound of my voice” to help the city find the best candidates available for the police and the fire academies.
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