Sheriff's Department to fill two positions

With two open merit deputy positions in the department, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department recently began the process of hiring its two newest officers.

On Dec. 19, the candidates took part in the initial testing phases of the selection process, which occurred in two parts.

First, a written test containing different components including, reading comprehension, grammar, mathematics and incident report writing took place at the Putnam County Emergency Operations Center. Each candidate must have scored at least 75 percent in each category to move to the second phase of testing for the position.

The written tests are standardized police officer selection test to ensure a fair, and unbiased measurement of each candidate.

The second phase took place at DePauw University Indoor Tennis and Track Center, where each candidate took part in extensive and intense physical abilities testing, including a measured vertical jump, timed setups, timed 300-meter sprint, pushups and a timed 1.5-mile run.

The applicants must meet or exceed the physical requirement entrance standards of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

Several weeks ago, Putnam County Sheriff Scott Stockton petitioned and was granted authorization from both the County Commissioners as well as the County Council to open the merit deputy positions. This testing was an initial phase of the process to select the best candidates for service the citizens of Putnam County Stockton said. Several members of the Putnam County Sheriff's Department assisted with the testing.

Sheriff Stockton said the next phase in this process will be for those invited to participate in a structured, panel interview. When this is completed, the scores from the written and physical testing will be combined with the panel interview, producing the top-tier candidates.

Those identified as potential candidates for the merit deputy positions will have an extensive background investigation conducted. If found to be favorable, the selected candidates will be offered a conditional offer of employment, meaning they must still pass psychological and medical examinations conducted by Public Safety Medical.

Upon hire, the new merit deputies will serve a probationary period of one full year. The new deputies also must attend and successfully complete the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

The department currently has two probationary deputies, Riley Houghton and Jacob Harrington, attending the academy. A third new deputy, Anthony Brown, will be attending the next session of the academy.

To ensure the new deputies exhibit the proper mindset and aptitude for public service, new deputies complete an evaluation period by riding with experienced merit deputies selected as field training officers. Each probationary deputy will have monthly evaluations completed on their field performance and must and adhere to all newly updated standard operating procedures, as well as the rules and regulations of the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.

Since Stockton took office on Jan. 1, the department has lost six merit deputies, all of them either to resignation or retirement.