{"id":176568,"date":"2026-02-13T14:10:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/176568\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:10:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:10:33","slug":"fresno-police-works-to-fill-vacant-police-jobs-through-cadet-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/176568\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno Police works to fill vacant police jobs through cadet program"},"content":{"rendered":"

FRESNO, Calif. \u2014 The Fresno Police Department is looking to fill 76 vacant positions and is actively recruiting cadets and future officers committed to public service, according to KSEE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Police Chief Mindy Casto, a department veteran who began her career as a cadet in 1996, said the department is focused on \u201cgrowing our own\u201d officers. Cadets, some as young as 18, train and assist with non-emergency duties while preparing for entry into the police academy.<\/p>\n

| SPECIAL REPORT: The DFR decisions every chief faces before the first drone ever flies<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur officers who came through as cadets have over a 90% success rate through the training program,\u201d Casto said.<\/p>\n

Applicants to become police officers must be at least 21, pass a background check and undergo psychological and medical evaluations. Felony convictions and certain drug use can disqualify candidates, while misdemeanors are considered case by case. The department no longer requires a written exam, according to the report. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe look into every aspect of someone\u2019s life to see if they\u2019re suitable for a police officer,\u201d Casto said.<\/p>\n

Despite staffing shortages, Casto said emergency response times have not been affected. However, more officers would help reduce overtime and improve response to non-emergency calls. Applications have declined compared to years past, when positions typically drew multiple candidates.<\/p>\n

Among the department\u2019s recent graduates is Officer Amanda Gonzalez, a former fifth-grade teacher and mother of two. She joined the department at age 33 and earned the top physical training award for women in her academy class.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only have like one life, and that\u2019s it. So make the most of it. I have a lot of family members who are in law enforcement … So they were so excited,\u201d Gonzalez told Your Central Valley.<\/p>\n

Recruitment opens soon: applications for Cadet II (age 21 and older) begin March 2, and Cadet I (under 21) opens March 30, according to the report. <\/p>\n

Looking to fill open positions in your department? Post your job opening<\/a> on the Police1 Job Board to reach thousands of qualified law enforcement professionals.<\/p>\n

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\"Seattle<\/p>\n

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\n Jaahnavi Kandula was hit by a Seattle officer who was driving up to 74 mph as he responded to a drug overdose call; he had his emergency lights on and had been using his siren at intersections\n <\/p>\n

February 12, 2026 09:12 AM<\/p>\n

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\"CORRECTION<\/p>\n

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\n The immigration crackdown, which spanned Minneapolis and St. Paul, resulted in more than 4,000 arrests and extensive protests\n <\/p>\n

February 12, 2026 10:14 AM<\/p>\n

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\"LAPD<\/p>\n

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\n The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners voted unanimously to approve putting a $2.1 million donation toward the purchase of 24 drones, docking stations and other equipment\n <\/p>\n

February 11, 2026 04:39 PM<\/p>\n

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\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

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\n \u201cNo porches were harmed in the making of this incident. Sgt. Bennett\u2019s dignity is currently under review,\u201d the Monterey Police Department captioned the video post\n <\/p>\n

February 12, 2026 11:26 AM<\/p>\n

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February 11, 2026 03:49 PM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. \u2014 The Fresno Police Department is looking to fill 76 vacant positions and is actively recruiting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-176568","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}