Monterey Police Searching For New Detective

The Monterey Police Department trying to fill a detective position that has been vacant for two months.

Monterey Police Chief Bill Randolph said they are currently reviewing the second round of applicants. Randolph said that the search to fill the position has gone slow.

“I’m just not sure everybody is looking for a career in law enforcement,” Randolph said. “But also all the departments in the surrounding areas that had their pay has gone up significantly, so it’s not as enticing as it used to be.”

The department has taken an all-hands-on-deck approach to take over detective duties until they fill the position. Randolph said they have had plenty of applicants but have not seen any applicants that meet their requirements.

“We had some applicants,” Randolph said. “None of them so far have the experience we are looking for to fill the position, the position we are looking for is a detective position and we are trying to find somebody that already has several years of experience being a detective.”

Randolph said that the department does not have a certain deadline to fill the position.

“We all decided that it’s better to run short-handed than to put the wrong person in there or somebody without the experience we are looking for,” Randolph said.

The department does not plan to change the requirements for the position even if the position continues to be vacant. Randolph said that all law enforcement should be paid more but that the position offers good benefits.

Former detective Micahel Phillips took a job with Tennessee’s Homeland Security Department two months ago.