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Certified/Lateral Police Officer

LATERAL/CERTIFIED POLICE OFFICER HIRING RANGE: $39.69 - $56.64 per hour. 

Receive 40 Hours Paid Time Off with your first paycheck for all New Hires! Up to $5,000 Hiring Bonus up to $2,500 Relocation Assistance Do you want to be a part of something bigger? To make a difference in a community that is very supportive of law enforcement? If so, the Grand Junction Police Department invites you to experience more in your career!

About the Grand Junction Police Department: 
At the Grand Junction Police Department (GJPD), we are committed to enhancing community safety, reducing fear of crime, and elevating the quality of life through partnerships and innovative policing initiatives. Our Police Officers value and embody professionalism, integrity, compassion, and service. The department promotes the personal and professional development of our police force through a wide variety of challenging and rewarding career opportunities. The GJPD provides a full range of high quality policing services found in few departments our size including traffic unit, investigations, K-9, bomb squad, crime lab, university campus policing, SWAT team, drug task force, and other collateral assignments. Police Officers work ten hour shifts in a team concept. 

Lateral Entry Officers: 
To apply as a Lateral Officer, applicants must be POST certified in Colorado and possess a (1) year of experience in the law enforcement field.  If applicants are certified in another state (or certain federal law enforcement agencies), they must apply for and obtain a Provisional Certification through Colorado POST prior to a final offer of employment.  Details regarding that process and eligibility can be found here:https://post.colorado.gov/certification/certification-types/provisional-certification

Certified Entry Officers: To apply as a Certified Officer, applicants must be POST certified in Colorado (by date of hire).  If applicants are certified in another state (or certain federal law enforcement agencies), they must apply for and obtain a Provisional Certification through Colorado POST prior to a final offer of employment.  Details regarding that process and eligibility can be found here: https://post.colorado.gov/certification/certification-types/provisional-certification.  

Lateral and Certified Officers starting pay will be $39.69-$56.64 per hour, based on years of service and experience.  Lateral and Certified applicants will receive 40 hours of paid time off upon hire. Lateral and Certified applicants may be eligible for a hiring bonus up to $5,000 dependent upon qualifications and experience. This hiring bonus will be awarded upon completion of the Field Training Officer Program with a signed three (3) year commitment to the Grand Junction Police Department. Lateral and Certified applicants are eligible for reimbursement of up to $2,500 in qualified relocation expenses.


What You'll Do:

  • Patrol assigned areas within City limits
  • Respond to radio dispatch calls for service
  • Perform preliminary investigations at scenes
  • Prepare citations and summonses
  • Make arrests and transport individuals
  • Appear in court to offer testimony relative to the investigation of incidents
  • Prepare a variety of reports and records
  • Offer assistance to citizens


Click to view the full Police Officer Job Description.

During the course of the application and hiring process, you will be asked to disclose information about your past activities. The below list of critical admissions, which may be cause for disqualification from employment with the Grand Junction Police Department, is provided to Background Investigators, Computerized Voice Stress Analysis (CVSA) Technicians, and others involved in the recruitment process. It is important that you be completely honest and forthright about this history. While a critical admission may or may not disqualify an applicant from a job, discovery of misleading or deceitful information provided by the applicant is immediate cause for disqualification.

  • Any felony investigation or conviction
  • Any conviction for a crime of violence, specifically assaults, domestic violence, etc.
  • Any conviction for a "hate crime" such as ethnic intimidation
  • Perjury conviction
  • Any theft conviction regardless of value of item
  • Theft from current employer or a previous employer
  • Drug use (including marijuana) and/or current alcohol abuse
  • An alcohol or drug conviction including but not limited to DUI/DWAI, depending on date
  • Hit and run accident conviction
  • Being under or having been under driving restraint, cancelation, suspension or revocation of driving privileges in Colorado or any other state


Please note: The listed critical admissions are not the exclusive basis for disqualification. The City reserves the right to disqualify any applicant who may or may not have any one or all of the foregoing admissions. If you have specific questions or circumstances, you may contact the Human Resources office at 970-244-1512 or GJPD Recruiting at 970-549-JOBS.

Notice to Applicants:  
In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, we kindly request that you do not include the dates of your education to include years of attendance or graduation on your application, resume or attachments.