Lateral Police Officer Recruit Program
Lateral Police Officer means entry into the Big Spring Police Department by an officer already trained and experienced in law enforcement at the Police Officer level. The program provides:
- A starting salary based on an officer's whole years of police officer experience.
- Credit for years of service at a public agency in an equivalent qualifying eligible role, for the purposes of vacation accrual in accordance with the established accrual rates.
- A one-time, upfront balance of hours deposited into a non-cashable leave bank (i.e., leave that cannot be cashed out in lieu of utilizing the paid time off) in the following tiers:
- 80 hours – lateral with up to 5 years of full-time service
- 120 hours – lateral with 5-10 years of full-time service
- 160 hours – lateral with 10+ years of full-time service
A qualifying applicant shall be defined as an officer with comparable job duties to a Big Spring Police Officer as a sworn peace officer, sergeant, or lieutenant. Likewise, “years of full-time service” will include the candidate’s experience in a position with comparable job duties to those in Big Spring.
Years of service with prior public agencies will be verified during the pre-employment background investigation and used solely for vacation accrual. Years of full-time service for sworn positions shall include service as a sworn peace officer, as defined by the Texas Penal Code.
Lateral officers will have a six-month probationary period.
