AUGUSTA – The Maine State Police are advertising for new troopers. And with 25 vacancies, they are worried they will not get enough applicants to fill those jobs, a problem plaguing law enforcement in Maine and across the country.

“Five or six years ago we got 1,500 to 1,600 applicants for a handful of vacancies,” said Jeff Harmon, deputy chief of the state police. “Last [spring] we had 350 or so and we could only fill 11 vacancies out of 23. This is about the worst I have seen it.”

That complaint is common among police chiefs across the state, said Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association. He said many states are facing the same problem. He said police work means shift work as well as working weekends and can be dangerous and does not pay all that well.

“This is not the first time I can remember a shortage of applicants,” he said. “I can remember a similar problem in the late 1980s, when we also had a good economy and a lot of competition for jobs.”

He said it appears where the unemployment rate is lowest, there are fewer applicants for law enforcement positions. York County Sheriff Philip Cote said that is certainly true in his area. But, he said, there is also competition among police departments.

“I have lost deputies and corrections officers to better-paying jobs in some of the municipal departments and I have lost some to the private sector,” he said. “There are some better-paying positions to the south of us and it is hard to compete.”

But the shortage of applicants for police jobs appears to be statewide. Old Town had two vacancies earlier this year, but filled them after far fewer applications than Police Chief Donald O’Halloran liked.

“We were lucky,” he said. “There are a lot of departments with vacancies. It is really hard, in the smaller departments like Old Town, to compete with Bangor, or the state police.”

Lewiston Police Chief William Welch said that is because the larger law enforcement agencies are also facing vacancies even with better pay and opportunities for advancement. Out of 83 officer positions, there are five vacancies in Lewiston.

“We have an advantage in being a larger agency,” he said. “We have some more attractive assignments with room for more promotions and advancement that are not available in a smaller agency.”

Welch said there needs to be a large pool of applications because many who first apply never show up for the first series of tests in the lengthy screening process. He said many more never make it through the testing process.

“And the new application rules adopted by the [Maine Criminal Justice] Academy last year are screening out even more potential officers,” Schwartz said. “Some don’t like it, but I think it is a good rule.”

In order to be certified as a police officer in Maine, a person must graduate from the MCJA in Vassalboro. Last year, the Board of the MCJA voted to require all applicants to undergo a new battery of tests in addition to the physical fitness test, general aptitude written exam and a criminal background check. Now, applicants must have a psychological screening and a polygraph test before attending the 18-week training course.

Welch said he is concerned the number of applicants for police jobs is down because the public perception of law enforcement has become more negative. He said national news reports of violence and corruption in other areas of the country affect perceptions here.

“And pay has a lot to do with it,” he said. “For the hours officers must work, and the dangers they face, they don’t get paid enough.”

Salaries vary widely in the state. Some small agencies pay less than $400 a week with few benefits; state troopers start at $529 a week with good benefits.

And studies indicate there is a difference between how the public perceives the police, and how law enforcement officers see themselves. Steven Barkan, chairman of the Sociology Department at the University of Maine, says what motivates most police officers to take the job is not what the public believes are the reasons.

“The reason they want to do the job is not because they want to beat up people or boss them around,” he said. “They really have a sense that they want to help people. They really are very idealistic about their motivation for doing police work.”

Barkan said without such “internal motivation” it would be very hard for police officers to do the difficult work that most do.

Applications for the Maine State Police positions will be accepted until Sept. 21, according to Col. Michael Sperry, chief of the state police. The department is authorized to have 350 troopers. Eleven new troopers are at the criminal justice academy and expected to graduate Nov. 16.

Qualified applicants for the remaining 25 positions must be 21 and have a high school diploma or equivalent. No one with a major criminal or motor vehicle record will be accepted. More information is available at the state Web site, www.state.me.us, or by calling 287-3983.