Join HPD

The Town of Hillsborough offers a competitive benefits package, including:

• Salary — The starting salary for an officer who has completed BLET is $53,412. In addition, the following hiring incentives may be offered:
  • 2 percent increase for an associate’s degree or 4 percent for a bachelor’s degree in a related field.
  • 1.5 percent for each year of comparable service, up to 15 percent.
  • $1,500 for Spanish fluency.
• Career progression — Hillsborough has a three-step career progression system that allows officers to advance their careers outside of promotional opportunities and regular performance evaluations. Officers who accomplish certain training requirements can be eligible for the first step to officer first class at 18 months of service. Each step comes with a salary increase.
• Individually assigned vehicles — Each officer is assigned a vehicle, and officers living within 25 miles may be eligible to take the vehicle home.
• Tuition assistance — Education is a focus for the department, and the town will provide up to $5,250 in tuition reimbursement each year.
• Training — Developing and maintaining skills are important, and the department has a minimum goal of 40 hours of elective training (external training that officers choose to attend beyond any required training). Officers are allowed up to 120 hours of elective training per year.

Factors that will disqualify a candidate from joining the department include:

• Criminal history:
  • Any felony conviction or any conviction for a crime for which the punishment could have been more than 2 years of incarceration.
  • Conviction of a Class B misdemeanor within the preceding five years.
  • Conviction of multiple misdemeanor (non-traffic) crimes within the preceding five years.
  • Any history of domestic violence.
  • A history of criminal charges that reflect poorly on the candidate’s character.
• Traffic violations:
  • Having a driver's license suspended or revoked in the three years before or at any time after the date of application.
  • Any history of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
  • Multiple at-fault accidents or driving violations beyond minor speeding or right-of-way violations.
• Drug use:
  • Prior drug use is evaluated for the extent of the use and how recent the use has been. Illegal drug use beyond youthful experimentation in the 18 months prior to application would be considered a disqualifier.
• Credit:
  • Demonstrated history of financial irresponsibility.
• Other:
  • Former military personnel must have an honorable discharge and must be eligible for re-enlistment.
  • Untruthfulness or intentional withholding of information from any application, interview or paperwork associated with the position.
  • Deliberate inaccuracies or incomplete statements.
  • Cheating on any examination or testing associated with the position.
  • Actions or activities that call into question a candidate’s character, integrity or morality.

The hiring process varies depending on candidates’ backgrounds. See sections below for specifics for candidates who are enrolled in or have completed BLET, lateral transfers and those interested in attending BLET.

The department most frequently hires candidates who are completing or have completed a BLET program or who are sworn with other agencies and are seeking a change. The steps in the process for these candidates includes:

• Application — Hillsborough accepts applications online through the town's employment website.
• Written testing — Hillsborough uses a standardized, written, entry-level basic skills test designed to help law enforcement ensure that candidates possess the basic cognitive skills necessary to successfully perform the job in the areas of arithmetic, reading comprehension, grammar and incident report writing.
• Physical assessment — Candidates will be asked to complete the Police Officer Physical Abilities Test within the state-mandated time. This requirement is waived if applicants can provide documentation that they have successfully completed the test within the past six months.
• Panel interview — Based on the results of written and physical testing, candidates will be invited to participate in a panel interview. During this interview, three or four members of the department will meet with the candidates and go over a series of questions. They will evaluate the candidates and provide a recommendation.
• Interview with the chief — Depending on the results of the panel interview, the chief, at his discretion, may choose to conduct an additional interview with the candidate. In the case of lateral hires, this interview generally will be conducted at the beginning of the process.
• Background investigation — A group of candidates who have successfully completed the steps above will be moved into the background investigation phase. The number of candidates referred will vary depending on the number of openings and staff available to conduct background investigations. During the background investigation, an experienced investigator will meet with the candidate, verify all information provided and ensure no disqualifying factors or omissions exist.
• Conditional offer — Once the department is satisfied that a candidate has completed the steps above and is a person it wishes to hire, a conditional offer of employment outlining salary, benefits and expectations will be made. This offer is conditional upon the successful completion of some or all of the following:
  • Medical evaluation
  • Psychological evaluation
  • Drug screening
  • Polygraph testing where applicable

Individuals seeking to become police officers in North Carolina must successfully complete a BLET program.

The BLET program is a full-time program designed to prepare entry-level individuals with the cognitive and physical skills needed to become certified law enforcement officers. The program includes 36 blocks of instruction with topics including firearms; driver training; motor vehicle law; and arrest, search and seizure. BLET is filled with practical exercises, and an extensive ethics section is woven throughout. The program takes approximately 16-20 weeks to complete and concludes with a comprehensive written exam and skills testing.

Minimum requirements to attend BLET include:

• Being a United States citizen.

• Being at least 20 years old.

• Being a high school graduate or having passed the General Educational Development test.

• Being of good moral character.

BLET programs are offered through many community colleges across the state. More information is available on the N.C. Justice Academy website.

The Hillsborough Police Department provides opportunities for interested people to enroll in and complete a BLET program in two ways: sponsorship and hiring as a police recruit.

Individuals wishing to attended a BLET program can request that the Hillsborough Police Department sponsor them. Sponsorship allows the program’s $900 community college tuition to be waived. The individual is responsible for costs associated with books, uniforms and other supplies. Sponsorship is not an offer of employment, and neither the individual nor the agency is making a commitment.

Those wishing to be considered for sponsorship must complete an application online through the town's employment website. All required documents must be submitted, including the F-3 personal history statement and the liability release. Those seeking to be considered for sponsorship must indicate this on the supplemental question that is part of the application.

Sponsorship requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and generally do not involve a specific process and only minor background checks.

The department occasionally hires recruits and then puts them through a BLET program. Candidates who accept an offer to be hired as a recruit must agree to a two-year commitment to the Town of Hillsborough. It can take several months to complete this process.

The process for this opportunity generally includes:

• Application — Hillsborough accepts applications online through the town employment website. All required documents must be submitted, including the F-3 personal history statement and the liability release.

• Written testing — Hillsborough uses a standardized, written, entry-level basic skills test designed to help law enforcement ensure that candidates possess the basic cognitive skills necessary to successfully perform the job in the areas of arithmetic, reading comprehension, grammar and incident report writing.

• Physical assessment — Hillsborough utilizes a modified version of the Police Officer Physical Abilities Test to ensure candidates are adequately prepared to enter a BLET program.

• Panel Interview — Based on the results of written and physical testing, candidates will be invited to participate in a panel interview. During this interview, three or four members of the department will meet with the candidates and go over a series of questions. They will evaluate the candidates and provide a recommendation.

• Interview with the chief — Depending on the results of the panel interview, the chief, at his discretion, may choose to conduct an additional interview with the candidate.

• Background investigation — A group of candidates who have successfully completed the steps above will be moved into the background investigation phase. The number of candidates referred will vary depending on the number of openings and staff available to conduct background investigations. During the background investigation, an experienced investigator will meet with the candidate, verify all information provided and ensure no disqualifying factors or omissions exist.

• Conditional offer — Once the department is satisfied that a candidate has completed the steps above and is a person it wishes to hire, a conditional offer of employment outlining salary, benefits and expectations will be made. This offer is conditional upon the successful completion of some or all of the following:

  • Medical evaluation
  • Psychological evaluation
  • Drug screening
  • Polygraph testing where applicable

Upon successful completion of this process, a candidate would be hired as a recruit and enrolled in a BLET program at a nearby community college. The recruit officer would then attend the program with all uniforms and materials provided by the department.

For answers to recruitment questions, contact the department by email or at 919-296-9500.