2025 – 2026 Employer of the Year Sedalia Police Department
The Sedalia Police Department (SPD) began in 1882 with their first non police officer, George Washington Hogan. Today, the Department is comprised of 48 sworn officers and eight administrative staff, with three women in managerial positions.
SPD’s focus is to create a sense of family, ensuring their family’s well-being. They provide flexible hours and benefits, including personal time off, vacation, comp time, and bereavement leave. SPD offers a retirement package with LAGRS, 456B deferred comp retirement, and life insurance. Dependent care is supported by FMLA. New parents are given 12-weeks of maternity/paternity leave. Pregnant employees are placed on light duty so they are not injured in the field. An officers’ wives’ group is in place and is an asset to assisting with child care. Employees are further permitted to work out for 30 minutes per day while on duty. They promote a sense of cooperation in the department to ensure the public is protected and served while the needs of their police family are met.
By law, sworn officers are required to obtain 24-hours of training for certification. The SPD requires 48-hours of in-house training funded by the Department. Officers seeking professional development and career advancement may participate in specialized training and/or college courses in criminal justice, which can also be funded by the Department.
SPD offers a 30-day internship program for current employees allowing them to observe other opportunities within the Department. SPD is involved in numerous community activities and organizations to build relationships within the community which includes: Shop with Cops at Christmas, First Thursdays in Downtown, school resource officer as SCJHS, mock accidents, K-9 and drone demonstrations, and Citizens Police Academy. Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), an American educational initiative to prevent drug use, was founded in 1983. Dare Includes evidence-based curricula taught by trained law enforcement officers in K-12 classrooms in all 50 states in the US. SPD has been teaching the DARE program in our schools for 30 years and has over 400 graduates per year.
To promote knowledge, education, and future employment of law enforcement officers, SPD has a job shadow program for high school students, with a mini-academy, and a non-interview board to teach students how to do job interviews. The non-interview board is comprised of officers who teach criminal justice courses and skills at the Police Academy, State Fair Community College, and the University of Central Missouri.
Congratulations, SPD for being the 2025-2026 Employer of the Year!
