Lateral Transfer Program For Police Officer

Lateral Transfer Program For Police Officer


Qualifying experience for lateral consideration; Full credit: 

  • State/County/Municipal/Tribal sworn law enforcement (full arrest powers/certified by a state commission/board of professional standards). The population and call load in which the years of service to be considered, must be comparable in size to the Dodge City Police Dept. or larger.

  • Federal law enforcement will be evaluated based on the specific agency and assignment.  Sworn (arrest powers) law enforcement service, including but not limited to: FBI, DHS, ATF, DEA, US Marshal, and ICE, will qualify as full credit years of service as well as qualified lateral detective years of service.

  • US Military Police (MP), and Criminal Investigations Division (CID) will qualify as full credit years of service. CID will qualify as well as lateral detective years of service.

    • Full credit years of service = 1 to 1 credit. For each year of qualifying law enforcement experience the lateral transfer would go one step up on the current pay scale.



Qualifying experience for lateral consideration; Partial credit:

  • Sworn law enforcement years of service including but not limited to: US Border Patrol, FBI Police, will be given partial years of service credit.

    • Partial years of service credit = (.5) year credit for each one (1) year of service.

Prior military, corrections, and security years of service will not be considered for lateral credit. 


Sworn law enforcement officers who come from an agency that is smaller and/or has less of a call load will be evaluated and placed in the pay scale by city administration.


The hiring process will remain the same for police officer lateral transfers: a written test, oral board, background investigation, psychological test, medical physical, and CVSA.


A newly hired lateral transfer will complete a stream-lined field training to familiarize the employee with the Dodge City Police Department policies and subject to the needs and experience unique to each employee.