More recruits sworn in at JPD

Jackson Police Chief Thom Corley had the air conditioning turned off for a few minutes in the JPD headquarters lobby on Monday, July 14, because he wanted to be sure he could be heard.

He had an important message to deliver to important people coming into the department.

Eight new recruits and an apprentice were sworn in for duty, bringing the grand total of new recruits being sworn in so far in 2024 to 24, including the apprentices.

The difference between recruits and apprentices is apprentices is apprentices are younger.

“You can’t be a police officer until you’re 21 years old, so our apprenticeship program is in conjunction with the state workforce development board that connects us with high school and college students that are interested in police work,” Corley said. “They can come in and work with us like an apprentice and get a good idea of what being an officer is like.

“Because a lot of times when a student graduates high school and they’re interested in working here, it’s three years before they can do anything, and that’s three years to find another job, lose interest and we lose a potential recruit.”

Corley had a simple message with how he wanted the recruits to approach their jobs to be successful for a long period of time.

“I base it on the four Fs,” Corley said. “Faith, family, fitness and fun.”

Corley said faith is important to him, which is why it was listed first, and is big in how he deals with the difficulties of the job of law enforcement and running the department.

“And I’m glad to see a lot of family members here with us today,” Corley said. “Do not shut them out from your job.

“You’ll want to keep them separate and even protect them in a way, but don’t do that because you can’t bottle everything inside. They want to support you, and that’s a way they can.”

Fitness wasn’t just about physical fitness, but also mental and emotional fitness.
“You need to be fit in every way possible to be the best officer you can be,” Corley said. “We’ve found out over the last few years how mental fitness is as important if not more important than physical fitness.”

And the last “F” was fun.

“I hope when you clock out and go home that you’re not thinking about this job,” Corley said. “When I’m off, I love to go running, and I do that a lot.

“If I can play a round of golf, I do. Find whatever is fun for you and do that and get away from this when you’re not here so that you can be as effective as possible when you are here.”

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news