Peru police chief proposes $3,000 bonus for new hires

Peru Police Chief Robert Pyszka proposed to the City Council a one-time $3,000 hiring bonus for new hires for the next two years.

The goal of the bonus is to attract qualified candidates so the city can have the best police presence possible.

“In this day and age, nobody wants to be a fireman and/or police officer,” Pyszka said. “I think this will help us get some qualified candidates.”

The bonus would only be given to a candidate with at least five years experience in law enforcement. This way, Pyszka said he can do an in-depth background check and make sure the person is of high quality. If approved, the bonus will be given to the new hire after the one-year probationary period, a period all new hires go through.

According to Pyszka, the Fraternal Order of Police, the law enforcement union, agreed to the signing bonus unofficially. The next step would be putting their approval in writing and getting it then approved by the City Council.

Pyszka said a current police officer is on schedule to retire in October and he would like to hire someone as soon as possible to fill that spot.

The money for the signing bonus would come out of the police department’s budget for employee testing. If approved, the new bonus will be instated for two years, which is when the contract expires, and the City Council will revisit the matter.