Chicago PD Heads to West Coast to Recruit Marines for Force
May 25, 2022
Chicago Police Department officials traveled to Camp Pendleton in California to meet with Marines interested in becoming officers and bolstering the department's ranks.
In an effort to fill its ranks, the Chicago Police Department set its sights on the West Coast this week to target active-duty Marine looking for jobs.
Department officials traveled to Camp Pendleton in California's San Diego County to talk to potential police recruits, WBBM-TV reports. Every year, roughly 9,000 Marines at the base transition from military to civilian life.
Marines interested in joining the Chicago Police Department were able to take an agency entrance exam, submit to a drug test, get fingerprinted and participate in a mandatory questionnaire. In the past, this process would take several months. Now, it's being done in a matter of days.
The trip, which was funded by the Chicago Police Foundation, included officers who also had been Marines. This is the second time the department has recruited on a military base. In April, police officials traveled to North Carolina's Camp Lejeune and met with 20 potential recruits who committed to the department.
