Gastonia, NC. β (Newsletter) The Gastonia City Council has authorized the Police Department to institute a new, larger, bonus structure aimed at recruiting and retaining police officers.
The Gastonia Police Department is currently down thirty police officers across its four shifts. To fill the gaps and attract new and qualified talent, the following bonus structure has been approved.
Sign-on bonus for NC Certified Lateral Transfer $15,000. $7,500 will be paid upon hire and the remaining $7,500 will be paid upon the completion of the 1-year probation period.
This is the highest amount currently offered in the state of North Carolina.
βWe canβt do it alone; we need the whole departmentβs help. We want Officers and other department personnel to have skin in the game and be compensated for bringing qualified new people into the department,β said Gastonia Police Chief Trent Conard. To better incentivize those helping with referrals, the following bonuses for sworn Police Department employees have been proposed.
- Any recruit needing Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) $1,000
- NC Certified Officer with 1-2 years of experience $3,000
- NC Certified Officer with 2 + years of experience $6,000
The referral bonus will be paid upon the candidateβs Police Training Officer (PTO) completion. There is no limit on referrals for Gastonia Police Department eligible sworn police personnel.
