Applications for police officer jobs may be on a downward trajectory nation-wide, but Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart says his department continues to see a good amount of applicants for uniformed officer positions, compared to neighboring departments.

In a Thursday morning meeting with the Police Merit Commission, Gebhart says the most recent crop of applicants started at 217, with 120 on hand for the written and physical testing.  The Chief says there are now 32 “strong candidates” that will proceed to the background check phase.  Fishers continues to receive a number of lateral applicants from other police departments.

The department is also seeing a trend where officers are retiring after 22-28 years of service and starting new careers, largely because they have remained healthy during their time in uniform.

Chief Gebhart and his Assistant Chiefs, Luke Gannon and Mike Taylor, briefed Commission members on programs aimed at the physical and mental health of officers, changing tactics on setting up perimeters in search of a suspect, using drones and the role of Rapid DNA in investigations.  The Fishers Police Department is the only one in the state currently utilizing Rapid DNA.