MELBOURNE, Fla. — Law enforcement agencies across the nation continue to struggle with recruiting officers. The Melbourne Police Department is working to hire nearly thirty additional officers.

Benefits for the job include paid police academy, paid training and health and benefits.

Officer Fitzpatrick grew up in Melbourne and knows his community well. He is new to the force, only been on duty for a little more than a year. He’s also the first in his family to become a law enforcement officer.

“I wanted to make a difference in my community, and to those around me. I wanted to influence them positively in an environment that wasn’t always the best,” Fitzpatrick told Spectrum News.

He says he came to work at Melbourne PD because some friends already had jobs with the department, and they told him about the benefits of joining.

“As long as you get good grades and pass the field training, you will have a job at the end,” Fitzpatrick said.

Officer Shaun Hill is the Melbourne police recruiter. He says the department has 148 sworn officers, but they need to fill 27 additional positions.

“We have some additional incentives that are on the edge right now. They are coming, but not something I can talk about officially just yet,” Hill said.

Fitzpatrick says he may be new, but his department already feels like family.

“They are always there for you, which is the biggest thing in this kind of field,” he says. “You want someone dependable that when the worse comes to worst, they are going to have your back.”

​The department is also in need of dispatchers. Right now, they employ 22, but have nine open positions.