BILLINGS - Across Montana, especially in the rural eastern part of the state, law enforcement agencies are struggling to fill vacancies as pressure on the job continues to grow.
Now, the Montana Highway Patrol is ramping up recruitment efforts statewide to strengthen its ranks, with a special emphasis on smaller communities.
It is a normal day on the job for Trooper Brennen Plucker, chasing down a driver speeding along I-90 just outside of Billings.
For Plucker, serving was what he wanted to do.
Watch Trooper Plucker talk about the Montana Highway Patrol:
"I was looking for a job where I got to interact with people and serve my community and have a job that I felt like I was making a difference," Plucker said during a ride-along on Tuesday.
He landed with the Montana Highway Patrol seven years ago.
"I applied to the highway patrol and only a couple other agencies, but the highway patrol is the one that I wanted the most," Plucker said.
The process is long, he says, but worth every step.
"My favorite part is the spontaneity of what we get to do. I love that not every day is the same," Plucker said.
MHP Lt. Col. Kyle Hayter says the agency is working to bring on about 10 new troopers.
"That's kind of our goal, but we do have the ability to take on more qualified applicants if we can find them," Hayter said.
They get around 300 applicants a year, but only the best make the cut.
"It's a lot, but obviously we, we whittle it down to, you know, we're looking for, we're looking for 10 or so. We want, you know, we want the best applicants," Hayter said.
Right now, central and eastern Montana are the biggest priorities with an emphasis on Plains, Stanford, Harlowton, Dillon, Hardin, Glendive, Terry, Glasgow, Culbertson, Forsyth, Colstrip, Broadus, Big Timber, and Big Sky.
"They're required to live within 30 air miles of that duty station to be able to respond in an appropriate amount of time," Hayter said.
Hardin Police Chief Paul George says that added law enforcement is always beneficial.
"If they see something occurring, they can act, they can contact us. And they are that extra deterrent to help prevent something from happening, just their presence alone," George said.
Staffing shortages are hitting every department.
"Everybody is short. So it's not just the state. It's not just us. It's not a localized thing. Everybody's short-handed. So having those extra hands from our county, state partners is very beneficial," George said.
For Plucker, the mission is what made him commit.
"Getting a lot of freedom, getting a lot of area to cover and getting a super high level of training to be able to go out and do my job and be proactive," Plucker said.
For more information, click here to visit the MHP website.
