Owasso Police Change Department Requirements For New Recruits

Owasso Police recently changed some of the requirements for people interested in working for the department. Owasso PD is changing the minimum education requirements for candidates. Now, those interested in working at Owasso PD will no longer need college credit hours to apply, but rather a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

Owasso PD believes eliminating the need for college credit hours will help expand the pool of candidates available as staffing shortages continue all across the country. Owasso PD can staff 66 officers, but the police department has had trouble reaching full staff.

According to Lt. Nick Boatman with Owasso PD, over the last several years, the number of officers coming in is equal to the number leaving. Boatman said that changing the minimum education requirements will give more people a chance to apply who may not have qualified before.

"We want to open that candidate pool to those who may not have had the opportunity to go to college. Some people go to the military out of high school, and that route is more open to them. We want to get those candidates in here to at least consider," Lt. Boatman said.

However, just because Owasso PD is lowering the minimum education requirements for candidates does not mean that Owasso PD will be lowering its hiring standard just to fill open positions.

"The stringent standard that we are still going to hold is there even though somebody may not have the actual number of college credit hours that we originally had before. We are still going to very highly scrutinize this individual in their personal lives going back," Lt. Boatman said.

Other police departments have different education requirements so it's best to check before applying. Tulsa PD, for example, requires a bachelor's degree while Broken Arrow PD requires at least 64 hours of college credit hours or an associate's degree.