Careers

Our patrol division is the backbone of our agency. These are the uniformed men and women who are on the roads and respond to calls for service from the public. The hard work and dedication of these officers are what keep the citizens of Junction City safe. JCPD has 4 Watches (A-D) that work 12-hour shifts and consist of 5 officers and 2 supervisors. Our officers will respond to and work cases ranging from a violation of a protection order to theft/burglaries all the way up to homicides. Once an officer successfully completes our hiring process JCPD pays to put them through the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) where they go through 14 weeks of training. Upon successful completion officers then enter another 12 weeks of field training where they will ride with a minimum of 4 officers to receive hands-on learning handling calls and cases. Our patrol division is the single most important division within the JCPD.

Our S.W.A.T. team is our Special Weapons and Tactics Team. This elite group of officers receives advanced specialized training to handle situations that would go beyond what a typical patrol officer is trained to handle. Each of our S.W.A.T. operators is sent to a specialized school where they learn advanced tactics and weapon-handling skills. Our officers are trained to handle everything from hostage situations and barricaded subjects to felony search warrants and vehicle takedowns. Officers are eligible for our S.W.A.T. team after 2 years of experience as a patrol officer, successfully passing an exam consisting of written and oral questions and completing an oral interview in front of a panel of other S.W.A.T. officers.

Our Investigations Division consists of a team of detectives who process and investigate all significant crimes within Junction City. Our detectives will investigate any crime from theft to illegal narcotics to murder. In order to promote to detective an officer must have 2 years of experience on patrol, pass a written exam, and pass an oral board interview in front of current members of the Investigations Division.   The Investigations Division of the Junction City Police Department has over 100 years of collective investigative experience.

Our Drug Task Force is a team of detectives and k9 officers specially trained for investigating crimes involving narcotics within our community. These detectives work both day and night to stem the distribution of controlled substances. In order to be a part of our Drug Task Force an officer has to have 2 years of experience as a patrol officer, pass a written exam consisting of written and oral questions, and pass an oral board interview in front of current members of the Investigations Division. This division has seized every substance from Marijuana to Fentanyl as a result of traffic stops and search warrants conducted within Junction City.

The K9 Division is a specialized unit that works with four-legged partners. These officers go through extensive training and revive multiple certifications with their K9s before going into service on the road. These units specialize in the detection of narcotics, tracking suspects, and locating evidence. Currently, JCPD has 2 K9s in service with the goal of expanding this unit in the future as our community grows.

During most of the year, the officers in our community involvement unit serve as the school district’s school resource officers. Additionally, our Community Involvement Unit serves as the liaison between the department and our community. This division organizes and hosts a variety of events and presentations throughout the year within the community. These events include our Citizens Police Academy, Law Enforcement Summer Camp, and Summer Block Party, as well as various presentations in all the schools within the school district in Junction City. The officers within this unit also serve as the department’s School Resource Officers. These officers are placed through the school district to help protect our communities’ children as they travel along their educational journey.

Bike patrol is a specialized unit deployed during the warm months and during special events to patrol where officers in vehicles otherwise couldn’t. Bike Patrol officers are patrol officers that have volunteered for this special deployment that emphasizes increased levels of citizen contact and increased visibility. These officers’ goal is to be more present in the areas they are patrolling and to be more available to answer questions from citizens than officers in patrol units. Any officer is eligible for this unit after they clear their field training probationary period.

Our crime lab is responsible for processing all of our major crime scenes. This may include but is not limited to canvassing an area for evidence, collecting evidence found, dusting for fingerprints, conducting a forensic examination of items to determine the evidentiary value, and maintaining the security of any and all evidence associated with all active and ongoing cases the Department has. This unit is on call 24/7 and responds whenever needed within the city when a major incident occurs.

Our records division of our department is responsible for processing all of the police reports and case-related paperwork generated by our officers. Additionally, they are responsible for ensuring that any and all documents associated with a case are accurate and error-free, confirming that information included in said cases is accurate and complete, and ensuring that cases are processed in a timely manner. Additional responsibilities of this unit include conducting N.C.I.C. validations, providing crime statistics to the KBI and FBI, fulfilling requests in accordance with the Kansas Open Records Act and Freedom of Information Act, and assisting citizens that come into our department at our front desk. This division is staffed by civilian professionals who work tirelessly to ensure our department continues to function.