With a rapidly aging state police force, the number of Pennsylvania state troopers is falling because of retirements, with hundreds expected to leave before the end of the year.
To address the shortfall, the state police are holding recruitment events, and there is one scheduled on Wednesday at IUP. The free “Come Get to Know Us Day” is scheduled from 11 AM to 2 PM in the Ohio Room at the HUB. It will be a family-friendly program with equipment on display, demonstrations, and state troopers on hand.
Pennsylvania added 677 troopers in 2015 and 2016, but about 800 reached retirement age. That trend has continued this year.
Pennsylvania eased some of the requirements for entry into the state police academy this year. Cadets must be at least twenty years of age when completing the application and be between 21 and 40 when they enter the academy. There are written and oral exams, a background check, a fitness test, and medical and psychological evaluations.
Cadets earn $1,200 biweekly for their 27 weeks of training, and if they make it through and are sworn in as state troopers, the starting salary is $58,962. State troopers can retire with partial pensions after 20 years and with a full pension after 25 years on the force.
