WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — More than a dozen vacancies, seven of which opened up in the last month, has WPD looking for applicants.

“We’re in a tough business right now. The police profession right now is under a microscope like no other time in history,” said police chief Ralph Evangelous.

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That is one of the reasons he said WPD and departments across the country are struggling to fill positions and keep officers on the job.

“No other profession in the world every time you’re on duty you’re always being watched, every second of every day,” said Evangelous.

He said the department has been working closely with city council over the last several years to help combat some of that by increasing pay, but it’s not always enough.

“Some local sheriff’s departments, and I’m not going to mention names, have hired away some of our best and brightest for substantially more money than they were making here. So that’s a struggle for us,” Evangelous said.

So far in June alone seven vacancies have opened up in the department and Evangelous said over the past 18 months they have seen an “unprecedented number of retirements,” leaving about 17 jobs open right now.

“To recruit, hire, put them into the police academy, put them into field training, and get them out on their own somewhere from nine to 14-15 months,” Evangelous said.

He said they have two full time recruiters always reaching out to find new applicants. Evangelous said there is a new academy class starting in August and about 10 to 12 recruit officers will be in that class. He said they are trying to fill the rest of the vacancies with certified officers who already have police academy training.