By Josephine E. Moore The Register-Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. — The Beckley Police Department may soon lose another of its officers to the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office.
Raleigh County Sheriff J.C. Canaday told The Register-Herald Thursday that an officer with the Beckley Police Department was among the 19 people who applied for the three open deputy positions at the sheriff’s office.
Canaday said they also received an application from a Sophia police officer.
Pay has been highlighted as one of the major contributing factors for officers choosing to leave one law enforcement agency for another.
At a Beckley Common Council meeting in July, Beckley Police Cpl. Joseph Hunter said three of the 11 experienced officers who have left the Beckley Police Department in the last five years left to go to the Raleigh Sheriff’s Office.
“The core of the issue is our salary is so far behind comparable agencies in this area,” Hunter said.
As it stands, the starting salary for Raleigh County sheriff’s deputy is more than $6,000 higher than the starting salary for Beckley Police officers. …