GREAT FALLS — The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) is recruiting ten new troopers to fill entry-level and lateral-level positions.
Applications are open now through August 18, 2024.
MHP troopers are trained in crash investigation, traffic safety, intercepting illegal and criminal activity.
MHP works to keep our highways and community safe throughout the state.
“Sometimes we do a lateral hiring cycle where if somebody is a police officer in another state and they're already licensed, it's a little bit shorter of a process. But right now, we're looking for ten people who are not police officers now, but want to be,” said John Metcalfe, a sergeant with MHP’s criminal interdiction team.
There are extensive qualifications applicants must meet in order to join.
“The Highway Patrol has not decreased any hiring standards, right? We still want people who are of good moral character, who are service-oriented and hardworking, and those are things that the highway patrol is not interested in compromising on,” said Sgt. Metcalfe.
Due to a nationwide shortage of law enforcement officers, MHP is almost always needing more troopers. Due to restrictions on how many individuals can go through the training academy at one time, they are currently planning to hire 10 new troopers.
“For somebody who's new, there's a three-month basic academy in Helena that's called the Montana Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA), and that's where everybody goes through in the state of Montana,” said Sgt. Metcalfe. “That gives you your basic peace officer license. The highway patrol then has an additional 11 weeks where you get some more training.”
An entry-level applicant has not graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Officer Basic Course in Montana and does not have any previous law enforcement experience.
A lateral applicant meets one of the following requirements:
- Has graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy Basic Law Enforcement Officer Course within the last three years.
- Possesses a current Basic Law Enforcement POST Certificate from Montana or another state and you must not have had a break in service that exceeds five years from your date of hire in Montana.
- Lateral applicants will need to successfully complete the 11 week MHP Advanced Academy.
- Out-of-state lateral applicants are also required to attend an additional two weeks of training (Legal Equivalency Course per MCA 7-32-303 and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing per MCA 61-8-404).
The 11-week course that is Highway Patrol-specific provides intensive training on crash investigations, firearms, and defensive tactics.
Finally, there is a 10-week field training program where new troopers are partnered with an experienced field training officer.
“There's a lot of really cool opportunities that the highway patrol has; we have a criminal interdiction team that I’m on too where we try to find people who are trafficking drugs, guns, illegal money, and anything. So, there's a lot of really cool opportunities with the highway patrol,” explained Sgt. Metcalfe.
Applications are open now through August 18th for those interested in joining the Montana Highway Patrol. Visit the MHP website for more details or to submit an application.
