JPD Chief Pearson talks personnel shortage and recruitment for local force

Police departments all across the country are facing a shortage of officers and other positions, and the Joplin Police Department is no different.

Joplin Police Chief Richard Pearson joined the Morning Newswatch on Wednesday to discuss this very issue as well as the other comings and goings with the local department. He mentioned the JPD has several openings.

“We’re holding about 14 actual vacancies right now,” Pearson said. “We’ve got several officers who are out on family leave and one military deployment. So we’re, we’re a little bit down. We’re holding about 22 spots right now that we don’t have officers actually filling. So, that’s a challenge for us. But as I said before, that’s a challenge at every police department in the country.”

Funding is critical for any police department in the country. Pearson noted that on the state level, there is a new program that the JPD was just approved for to help with funding.

“The new governor (Mike Kehoe) implemented a program called Blue Shield and that’s a state funding stream for agencies that get registered in the Blue Shield program. And we were just awarded our Blue Shield status yesterday actually. So that makes us eligible to get some state funding. And we’re looking forward to applying for some of those funds.”

The Blue Shield designation allows communities to access state grants for law enforcement training and equipment.

Pearson added the department has a lot of irons in the fire in terms of federal funding, which they are waiting to hear about.

Pearson, who has been Chief of Police in Joplin since December of 2023, noted that he feels the morale of the department as a whole is up from when he started, and he also feels it is continually on the rise. Though he did add that he feels like his department is waiting to see how he handles his first big situation.

“They’re optimistic, but they’re just looking to see what I’m going to do,” Pearson said. “I don’t think I’ve been challenged yet as far as any major events. That’s what they’re looking for, to see how I’m going to react when I’m tested. And I’m looking forward to that challenge. But they’re optimistic. They’re reinvigorated. They’re excited right now.”

The JPD is planning on a media blitz for recruitment purposes, using every tool at their disposal in order to get new members on the force whether it be social media posts or radio and TV advertisements. They even have plans to meet with local military recruitment teams.

“They have a lot of life experience under their belt, and they’re coming out of the military, going back into private life,” Pearson said. “And we want to gobble up as many of those people as we can get our hands on. Those are the kind of folks that I’m really focused on because they have life experience, they understand the challenges of dealing with human beings.”

What type of recruit is the JPD looking for specifically?

“Well, you have to be at least 21 years of age,” Pearson said. “No felony convictions. We will take misdemeanor incidents on a case by case basis. … We do a thorough background investigation of everyone who applies, just looking for things that would reflect negatively on the city or on the police department in general. But, most people won’t have a problem with that. 

“There, in part of the background investigation, is a thorough drug screen. And typically across the country we lose a lot of applicants and a lot of recruits when it gets to that point to the drug screen. Because marijuana usage in years past has been so prevalent that that was something that put a lot of people out of the process. But now that marijuana use is legal in the state of Missouri, we’ve kind of loosened our restrictions on that to a certain extent. But other drug use would negate your continuing in the process.

“If a person thinks that they would like to be a police officer, they think they’ve got what it takes. Please, I encourage you strongly to come in and put in an application. We’ll put you through the process and we would love to have you. If it doesn’t work out, then, you know, nothing lost.”