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South Bend Police Hold Recruitment Event

Prospective applicants to the South Bend Police Department practice meeting requirements to pass the Physical Agility Test. (Justin Hicks/WVPE News)

The South Bend Police Department held a recruitment open house Saturday morning to encourage prospective applicants. It gave potential officers the opportunity to ask questions and practice the required Physical Agility Test.

People interested in applying to the department did vertical jumps, sit ups and push ups at the Fire Department’s Training Center. But most attendees said they came simply to ask questions about the process from the police officers there. 

South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski also attended. He says this is the first time the department has held an open house like this in an effort to demystify the requirements. 

“This is putting our toe in the water right now to see how this is going to work out,” he says. “And obviously if it does, we’re certainly going to continue and expand on it.”

A human resources representative there said the department has already received 85 completed online applications and another 142 have been started. People interested in applying can also pick up a paper copy at the police department. 

Justin Hicks joined the reporting team for Indiana Public Broadcasting News (IPB News) through funding made available by (IPBS) Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations. Justin was based out of WVPE in his new role as a Workforce Development Reporter for IPB News.