BY THE NUMBERS Would-be troopers face long odds BY BRIAN C. JONES

Maybe it’s not the best way to put it — given that the Rhode Island State Police are stern enforcers of the gambling laws — but the odds of becoming a member of this elite force are daunting.

Take the enrollment process currently underway for candidates for the state police training academy in July 2004. A total of 2693 people applied over the summer to take a test — the first of many steps faced by recruits to become one of 35 new troopers, meaning that roughly only one of every 77 applicants would make the grade. And by the time the test was administered in October at the Rhode Island Convention Center, only 1571 candidates showed up. Major Brendan P. Doherty, chief administrative officer, thinks the long odds probably eliminated some candidates, as well as other circumstances, such as some applicants getting other jobs.

As it is, the odds are still substantial — one in 45 — that the test-takers will ever find themselves patrolling Rhode Island’s interstates and rural highways.

After the high scorers on the exams are identified, they have to pass an agility test, undergo psychological screening, and survive oral boards. The 35 winners will then go through a five-month training academy, followed by 24 weeks of field training. This means that the new men and women won’t be regular troopers until early 2005.

It’s a painful wait for the rest of the force, which badly needs reinforcements. Doherty says the optimum number of uniformed troopers and plainclothes detectives is 230 to 240. But currently, the force numbers 202. "We really could use 35 people immediately," the major notes. Troopers who already put in grueling shifts — 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. for the first shift, and 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. for the second, in three-days-on, three-days-off-cycles — are working substantial amounts of overtime.

Added to this are the growing duties, including work on homeland security, and tracking down cyber-criminals.

One reason for the short-staffing is a controversial retirement policy mandated by state law: troopers can retire after 20 years, and they must retire after 25 years. Thus, many officers find themselves retiring in the prime of their careers, Doherty says. On the other hand, he adds, "This is a young person’s job," and turnover prevents stagnation in the department.

All of this said, being a Rhode Island state trooper is a big deal. Doherty says most troopers stay through their twenty-fifth year. The benefits are good, including salaries that range from $40,513 for newcomers to $61,647 for a senior trooper in the twenty-first year. And that doesn’t include substantial overtime.

The allure, of course, in a state known for political corruption, is that the state police have maintained a reputation for honest professionalism. "We will never compromise our integrity," Doherty says.

Not that they are without their warts. The July 14 raid on Narragansett Indian property, to close a store selling tax-free cigarettes, left images of troopers wrestling with members of the tribe.

On a less confrontational note, Doherty heard gripes from people watching the annual police parade on Aquidneck Island earlier this year, suggesting that the 20 state police officers there should have been deployed on the state’s highways. But Doherty says the parade turnout shows the troopers’ commitment to the force: all were volunteers, using off-duty time, so the department would make an appropriate showing. It’s the kind of esprit de corps that suggests why so many are willing to brave such long odds to join up.