Sept. 06--The Chicago Police Department is looking for thousands more people seeking to become police recruits before the deadline for applications later this month.
About 20,000 people have applied to become police officers since the beginning of August, but Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Friday at a news conference that "I'd love to get it up to about 30,000." The deadline is Monday, Sept. 16.
"This is a great opportunity ... to make a difference in people's lives," McCarthy said.
Police spokesman Adam Collins later clarified the number of applicants, saying about 18,000 people have at least begun the application process, and said the 30,000 number is not a firm target.
An open house for potential applicants will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Police Academy, 1300 W. Jackson St.
This year, the department lowered the minimum age for eligible applicants to 18, down from 21. The maximum age is 40. McCarthy said he hopes the new requirement will give young people a goal to aspire to.
Applicants will take a written test in mid-December.
To keep costs down, McCarthy said the department only offers the opportunity to take the written test once every three to five years. The test costs about $1 million to administer, McCarthy said.
The police department is still drawing police academy classes from the pool of candidates who applied in 2010, the last time the test was administered.
McCarthy said that although the police department has diversified over the years, he hopes to get even more minority and female candidates to replenish an older police force. Diversity is particularly important because sometimes senior officers opt to transfer into less active police districts, McCarthy said.
"We want to make sure we reflect the demographics of the community," he said.
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