HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Harrisburg police say they have accepted that they are seen as a training ground for other agencies.

A former captain says the bureau has been losing officers to other departments for years.

“It’s been going on since 2006 at least and before that,” former Harrisburg police captain Annette Oates said.

Oates says while working as a training officer in 2006, she saw a lot of turnover to other local departments.

“They would get hired, go through the academy, spend a year or two getting the experience to make themselves more marketable, and then, they would go to another department,” Oates said. 

Harrisburg is in the process of hiring 10 officers to join the force.

“We have accepted the fact that we are a training ground for other agencies because if you can work in the city of Harrisburg, a Harrisburg officer that has three years on the job is worth a 10-year officer elsewhere,” Harrisburg police Commissioner Thomas Carter said.

At Silver Spring Township, five out of the 10 officers are former Harrisburg officers. Mechanicsburg and Derry Township police departments each have one former Harrisburg officer.

An officer currently working for Harrisburg must pay $5,000 if they leave before five years on the force. Oates says although police work is not about the money, it is an incentive to stay put. 

“We will continue to be a training ground for other agencies until our pay increases and benefits go up, and we know that. We’ve accepted that, and we are in negotiations now to make that happen,” Carter said.