The Yakima Police Department is looking for a handful of new officers. The department made plans to hire 12 new people last year, but they are having trouble finding the right candidates.

Captain Rod Light says that it is pretty lengthy process to get someone from the hiring stage to actually being out on the streets. Sometimes he says it can take more than a year. Light says Yakima still has 8 open positions within the police department, a number that could continue to go up as more older officers retire. Light says the police academy costs the city about $10,000 per officer, so it is definitely an investment when they find someone they want to send for training.

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