• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Liability — not always a showstopper!
      A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
      Do you know your emotional intelligence?
      Addressing racism in the workplace
      Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Liability — not always a showstopper!
        A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Addressing racism in the workplace
        Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
    • Editor’s Picks
      • Police humor only a cop would understand
        Legacy never dies
        Mentorship: Ensuring future success
        Pink patches, powerful impact
        The future is here
    • On the Job
      • Legacy never dies
        Into the abyss
        A winding road
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        I brought home a dog
    • Labor
      • Differentiation in police recruitment
        Building positive media relations
        LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
        Racing with a purpose
        Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
    • Tech
      • Cutting-edge police technology
        One step closer
        New Jersey school district first to adopt AI gun detection and...
        Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
        The future is here
    • Training
      • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
        Unlocking innovation
        Training dipshittery
        Police Academy 20
        Using critical thinking to crack the case
    • Policy
      • Consolidation in action
        California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
        Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
        California makes police misconduct records publicly available
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
    • Health/Wellness
      • Pink patches, powerful impact
        Time and distance
        Meditation is hard because it’s not what you think
        Life off the clock
        Self-help for anxiety
    • Community
      • Community engagement: What is it moving forward?
        Contradictory crossroads
        Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
    • Offbeat
      • Police humor only a cop would understand
        Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
    • We Remember
      • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
        Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        Team Romeo
        National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Legacy never dies
      Into the abyss
      A winding road
      Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
      I brought home a dog
  • Labor
    • Differentiation in police recruitment
      Building positive media relations
      LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
      Racing with a purpose
      Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
  • Tech
    • Cutting-edge police technology
      One step closer
      New Jersey school district first to adopt AI gun detection and...
      Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
      The future is here
  • Training
    • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
      Unlocking innovation
      Training dipshittery
      Police Academy 20
      Using critical thinking to crack the case
  • Policy
    • Consolidation in action
      California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
      Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
      California makes police misconduct records publicly available
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
  • Health/Wellness
    • Pink patches, powerful impact
      Time and distance
      Meditation is hard because it’s not what you think
      Life off the clock
      Self-help for anxiety
  • Community
    • Community engagement: What is it moving forward?
      Contradictory crossroads
      Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
  • Offbeat
    • Police humor only a cop would understand
      Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
  • We Remember
    • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
      Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      Team Romeo
      National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Labor

Chicago police recruit Marines to help address officer shortage

APB Team Published June 2, 2022 @ 12:00 pm PDT

iStock.com/mariusz_prusaczyk

Chicago police traveled to Camp Pendleton in California in late May to recruit Marines as part of a strategy to address staffing shortages.

According to officials with the Chicago Police Department, the agency is down roughly 1,100 officers after the COVID-19 pandemic and a wave of retirements took its toll. Other officers simply resigned from burnout following attacks against police over the last few years.

Now, as part of a new pilot program, the department intends to fill its vacancies by recruiting former Marines who are “compassionate” and “qualified.”

Every year, 9,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton transition from military to civilian life. Many of those former Marines go on to start careers in law enforcement — a fact Chicago P.D. is aware of and hopes to take advantage of.

Recently, officers with the department, including some who were once Marines themselves, offered potential recruits the opportunity to take the Chicago P.D. entrance exam, get drug-tested, have their fingerprints scanned and answer a mandatory questionnaire over the course of a few days, streamlining a process that would normally take months.

Deputy Chief Migdalia Bulnes, who is in charge of the recruiting effort, struck down criticisms over the move.

“The first thing is, you know, are we making the law enforcement process too militant — that’s the first question we’re going to get — and no, we’re not,” she told CBS News. “They’re individuals just like us, just like you — everybody. They’re an individual. The process will weed out those who have issues.”

The Chicago P.D. was able to attract 20 new recruits with the strategy in April at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

“We are overwhelmed at the success of the inaugural recruitment trip,” Rick Simon, chairman of the Chicago Police Foundation, said. Simon led the department’s delegation to Camp Lejeune.

“Our department deserves the best in class, and the Marines at Camp Lejeune exemplify the quality and characteristics of the finest Chicago Police Department officers,” he said.

“Given the relationship between the Chicago Police Department and the USMC, this will be an ongoing program in Camp Lejeune and other Marine bases,” Bulnes said at the time.

According to Simon, the department hopes to recruit 200 qualified candidates each year under the program. Officials are hopeful the program will grow and diversify the department.

“These efforts are essential to building a more diverse police department reflective of the entire city, while keeping and growing trust, strengthening our department and making our city safe,” Chicago P.D. Deputy Director Tom Ahern said.

Categories: Labor Tags: COVID-19, retirements, officer shortage, military, recruit marines, Camp Pendleton, Law Enforcement, recruiting, Chicago Police Department, hiring

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces September 2025 Officers of the Month
  • Community engagement: What is it moving forward?
  • Liability — not always a showstopper!
  • Police humor only a cop would understand
  • Contradictory crossroads
  • Cutting-edge police technology
  • Legacy never dies
  • One step closer
  • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
  • Differentiation in police recruitment

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Police humor only a cop would understand

Police humor only a cop would understand

October 25, 2025

Legacy never dies

Legacy never dies

October 22, 2025

Mentorship: Ensuring future success

Mentorship: Ensuring future success

October 20, 2025

Pink patches, powerful impact

Pink patches, powerful impact

October 11, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.