GREENWOOD, Ind. — To help recruit more police to IMPD, the city of Indianapolis is boosting salaries and adding bonuses for new officers.
But law enforcement recruitment challenges aren't exclusive to Indy. The Greenwood Police Department is competing for cops, too.
Ofc. Nicole Lisch was top of her class at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, with the highest GPA of more than 130 graduates.
She said being a cop is her calling. Serving in Greenwood is her choice.
"I'm really glad I did it because it's a really fulfulling job," Lisch said.
Lisch is one of the positives for police in Greenwood. She is one of six rookies at GPD, at a time when recruitment for police everywhere is a challenge.
Ofc. Camden Peters and Ofc. Roger Lindsay recently joined the force, too.
"This is home," Peters said. "I've just always wanted to protect and serve the community that's protected and served me - so just give back a little bit."
In Greenwood, retirements created a lot of vacancies and a very young department.
The average age for Greenwood officers is now 36. They've hired 32 officers just in the past five years. There are still seven open positions right now.
Full-staff would put the department at 74. Filling the gaps, though, has been tough.
"We're just not getting the numbers even applying," said Greenwood Assistant Police Chief Matthew Fillenwarth. "When I was applying here, there were over 300 people taking the written exam for four open jobs. We just held a written exam yesterday. We have six, soon to be seven openings, and we had eight people show up."
Starting pay in Greenwood is $65,000.
Still, Fillenwarth said for young potential recruits, salaries, on-the-job dangers and a perception problem with officers under the microscope are likely keeping numbers down.
"We've got great benefits, great equipment and a great community," Fillenwarth said. "It's not just us either. Federal agencies are having the same recruitment problems that we are. So it's just not the money. It's just not the job. It's just not the benefits."
"There's a lot going on in the world today," Lisch said. "I think sometimes that can kind of deter people from stepping up and taking that additional responsibility."
"It's not necessarily a media problem. It's a social media problem," Lindsay added. "I think there are a lot of people out there who have really bad misconceptions about what we do."
Lindsay is actually a "second time" rookie. He knows the reality of police dangers, having worked the Pulse Nightclub shooting as an officer in Orlando.
After a few years off, processing that tragedy and deciding what to do next, he made a new home in Greenwood and got on the force here.
"This is what I'm meant to do," Lindsay said. "It's what I love doing. It's what I'm good at so that's what I got back into."
But without others choosing to wear the badge, there are consequences on the streets.
Greenwood Police, without full staff, can't do as many proactive patrols. Officers often have to just go run-to-run.
Veterans and these rookies want that to change.
"I think if more people knew the in-depths about the job and what all it really requires, more people would be interested in it," Lisch said.
"We're not about going out and trying to cause problems for people and hurt people. We're literally here because we love our communities," Lindsay said. "We want to keep them safe and want to keep them from harm."