The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently started accepting applications for FWC law enforcement officer positions. Applications are currently being accepted until June 30.
FWC officer Philip Griffith, who also serves as recruiter for northwest Florida region of Florida, said interested applicants must be fond of working outside amongst nature.
“It should be for someone who loves being outdoors and doesn’t mind being by their self,” Griffith said. “They don’t necessarily have to be a hunter or fisherman, but it should be someone that enjoys being outside.”
Applicants should also be prepared to relocate within the state should a law enforcement officer position be offered to them, Griffith said.
In the process, FWC recruiters are trying to reach out to minorities, who would be interested in working with the FWC, Griffith said.
“We would like to keep our hiring process competitive,” Griffith said. “It’s not just Florida Fish and Wildlife conservation agencies, it’s all conservation agencies struggle with the minority issue, we just don’t get a lot of minorities applying.”
There are more than 800 FWC law enforcement officers in the state of Florida, Griffith said.
“We are a fully constitutionalized police officer or peace officer, but we put our focus on protecting the natural resources of the state,” Griffith said.
In addition to overseeing hunting and fishing licenses, the department also provides different aspects to overseeing wildlife including search and rescue efforts, K-9 units, investigations, aviation, boating safety courses, and much more.
“Florida Fish and Wildlife is a merger of Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission and the Florida Marine Patrol,” Griffith said. “Just recently, we inherited the law enforcement officers that work the state parks and department of agriculture officers that work the state forests, so we are compromised of four agencies now.”
Applicants must be 19 years of age, have a high school diploma and two years work experience at any profession. Griffith said applicants do not necessarily need to have a background in law enforcement in order to be considered for the position.
“If you have college, military or law enforcement background it would make you a better applicant, but it’s not required,” Griffith said.
Once applications are submitted, each application is entered through a process, Griffith said.
“What we do after the closing date of June 30th, we hire as a group,” he said. “The first thing we do is give the physical assessment, if the applicant passes the physical assessment, they automatically get an interview.”
Griffith said the physical assessment consists of a 300-yard swim which must be completed in less than 10 minutes in addition to going through a obstacle course.
After an oral interview applicants must pass a background check. FWC officials will then choose the applicants, they see fit to offer a position to. Should an applicant accept an offer consisting of which county he or she would work in, the applicant must undergo a mental and health exam along with a drug screening.
Should an applicant be hired, they would go through an academy based training in Tallahassee, Griffith said.
Griffith said the agency is looking to hire between 25-50 full-time law enforcement officers.
WANT TO APPLY?
Visit http://bit.ly/1IH9sAv, in order to apply for the FWC Law Enforcement Officer position online. For more information on the position contact recruiter Philip Griffith at (850) 232-9969.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: FWC accepting applications for Law Enforcement Officers