Benefits of Joining HPD

The Town of Hillsborough offers a competitive benefits package, including:

Salary — The starting salary for an officer who has completed basic law enforcement training is $54,912. Hiring incentives also may be offered:

• 2% increase for an associate’s degree or 4% for a bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Up to 3% increase for each year of comparable service, up to 25%.
• $1,500 for Spanish fluency.
• Shift differential of $4 per hour between midnight and 7 a.m.
• Officers may attain up to two specializations with 2.5% pay increase for each. Specializations include:
  • Canine unit
  • Collision investigation specialist
  • Community engagement specialist
  • Investigative specialist
  • Tactical and medical specialist
  • Traffic and drug enforcement specialist
• Pay scales are as follows:
  • $54,912 to $86,059 for police officer
  • $57,508 to $90,212 for police officer 1st class
  • $60,233 to $94,573 for corporal

Career progression — Hillsborough's two-step career progression system allows officers to advance their careers outside of regular performance evaluations and opportunities for promotion.

Officers who complete certain training requirements can be eligible at 12 months of service for officer 1st class, the first step of the career progression. Each step up to corporal provides a 5% salary increase.

Individually assigned vehicles — Each officer is assigned a vehicle. Officers living within 30 miles of Hillsborough may be eligible to take the vehicle home.

Tuition assistance — The department prioritizes education. The town will provide up to $5,250 in tuition reimbursement each year.

Training — The department also prioritizes developing and maintaining skills. Officers have an annual minimum goal of 40 hours of elective training (external training that officers choose to attend beyond their required training). Officers are allowed up to 120 hours of elective training per year.

Workout time — Officers may work out for up to 1.5 hours on duty. Ask about other physical fitness incentives.

Disqualifiers

Factors that will disqualify a candidate from joining the department include:

Criminal history —

• Any felony or crime conviction that could have required more than two years of incarceration as punishment.
• Conviction of a Class B misdemeanor within the preceding five years.
• Conviction of multiple misdemeanor, non-traffic crimes within the preceding five years.
• Any history of domestic violence.
• A history of criminal charges that reflect poorly on the candidate’s character.

Traffic violations —

• Having a driver's license suspended or revoked after the date of application or in the three years before.
• Any history of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Multiple at-fault accidents or driving violations beyond minor speeding or right-of-way violations.

Drug use — Illegal drug use beyond youthful experimentation. The department evaluates prior drug use for its extent and for how recent it was. 

Credit — Demonstrated history of financial irresponsibility.

Other —

• Former military personnel discharged dishonorably and ineligible for reenlistment.
• Untruthfulness or intentional withholding of information from any application, interview or paperwork associated with the position.
• Deliberate inaccuracies or incomplete statements.
• Cheating on any examination or testing associated with the position.
• Actions or activities that call into question the candidate’s character, integrity or morality.

The department most frequently hires candidates who are:

• Completing or have completed a basic law enforcement training program.
• Sworn with other agencies and are seeking a change.

However, the department occasionally hires and puts recruits through a basic law enforcement training program. Candidates who accept an offer to be hired as a recruit officer must agree to a two-year commitment to the Town of Hillsborough. 

Completing the hiring process can take several months. The process generally includes:

Application — Hillsborough accepts applications through its employment website.

Recruits will be required to submit all necessary documents, including:

• F-3 personal history statement
• Liability release

Written testing — Hillsborough uses a standardized, written, entry-level basic skills test in math, reading comprehension, grammar and incident report writing to help ensure candidates have the basic cognitive skills needed to perform the job.

Physical assessment — Lateral candidates are asked to complete the Police Officer Physical Abilities Test within the state-mandated time. This requirement is waived if applicants can provide documentation that they have successfully completed the test within the past six months.

Recruits will be required to complete a modified version of the Police Officer Physical Abilities Test to ensure candidates are adequately prepared to enter a basic law enforcement training program.

Panel interview — Based on the results of written and physical testing, candidates will be invited to a panel interview. During this interview, three or four staff members will meet with the candidates and ask a series of questions. They will evaluate the candidates and provide a recommendation.

Interview with the chief — Based on the results of the panel interview, the chief may conduct an additional interview with the candidate. This interview generally is conducted at the beginning of the process for lateral hires.

Background investigation — Candidates who successfully complete the steps above will be moved as a group into the background investigation phase. The number referred varies depending on the number of openings and staff available to conduct background investigations.

During the background investigation, an experienced investigator will meet with a candidate, verify all information provided and ensure no disqualifying factors or omissions exist.

Conditional offer — The town will make a conditional job offer once the department is satisfied that a candidate:

• Has completed the hiring steps above.
• Is a person it wishes to hire.

The conditional offer will outline salary, benefits and expectations. It is conditional upon the successful completion of some or all of the following:

• Drug screening
• Medical and psychological evaluations
• Polygraph testing where applicable

Upon successfully completing the hiring process, a new candidate would be hired as a recruit officer and enrolled in a basic law enforcement training program at a nearby community college. The recruit officer would attend the program, and the department would provide all uniforms and materials for attending the program.

Becoming a police officer in North Carolina requires successfully completing a basic law enforcement training program. The full-time program takes about 16-20 weeks to complete and concludes with a comprehensive written exam and skills testing.

The program prepares entry-level individuals with the cognitive and physical skills needed to become certified law enforcement officers. It includes:

• 36 blocks of instruction with topics including:
  • Arrest, search and seizure
  • Driver training
  • Firearms
  • Motor vehicle law
• Practical exercises
• Extensive ethics training woven throughout the course. 

Minimum requirements to attend the basic training include being:

• A United States citizen.
• At least 20 years old.
• A high school graduate or having passed the General Educational Development tests.
• Being of good moral character.

Basic law enforcement training programs are offered through many community colleges across the state. More information is available on the North Carolina Justice Academy website.

Individuals wishing to attended a BLET program can request that the Hillsborough Police Department sponsor them. Sponsorship allows the program’s $900 community college tuition to be waived. The individual is responsible for costs associated with books, uniforms and other supplies. Sponsorship is not an offer of employment, and neither the individual nor the agency is making a commitment.

Those wishing to be considered for sponsorship must complete an application online through the town's employment website. All required documents must be submitted, including the F-3 personal history statement and the liability release. Those seeking to be considered for sponsorship must indicate this on the supplemental question that is part of the application.

Sponsorship requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and generally do not involve a specific process and only minor background checks.