Never in most of our lifetimes have we experienced such a shortage of police applicants — particularly quality candidates — while at the same time trying to retain our good and productive officers.

In the background, an anti-police sentiment haunts the minds of most young people considering career options. Who wants to be part of an industry under this level of scrutiny? Some officers, many of whom have other options, often seek employment in different fields due to the growing number of officers being persecuted, sued and indicted for job-related incidents. The end result is the predicament of finding and keeping law enforcement employees.

A survey in 2022 found that two-thirds of the police agencies surveyed identified recruitment and retention as the most pressing issue facing law enforcement today. It’s a serious situation for nearly every department in this country, and for smaller agencies, it can be devastating. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from March 2020 to August 2022, the number of law enforcement employees across the nation decreased by 4%.

A 2021 International Association of Chiefs of Police survey found that 78% of responding agencies reported difficulty in recruiting qualified candidates and that 65% reported having too few candidates applying to be law enforcement officers. These are dire numbers that are not encouraging for law enforcement executives trying to get back to full staff.

The lack of respect for the profession, constant negative reporting in the news and mischaracterized police use-of-force incidents have taken a toll on recruiting candidates.

When I entered law enforcement in 1992, there was an abundance of applicants, even for small departments. I began as a reserve officer with a small department and had to prove my value to the agency leadership before being offered a full-time position, and I was in competition with several other reserve officers. My current agency hasn’t been at full staff levels in over two years and received only a handful of (not particularly qualified) applicants in the past few months. However, despite the employee drought, our department has opted to keep positions vacant rather than fill them with undesirable candidates.

The environment has changed. The lack of respect for the profession, constant negative reporting in the news and mischaracterized police use-of-force incidents have taken a toll on recruiting candidates.

In a recent Reddit forum, the question, “Anyone considering becoming a police officer?” was posed. Below is a sampling of the responses:

• “Nobody wants to be a police officer anymore. Unfortunately, compared to 20–30 years ago, it’s not the same and holds a lot more risk for less reward.”
• “Today’s climate is bad. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to make it to retirement at 20 years without getting fired, sued or worse.”
• “I considered it but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the risk.”
• “Nope. Been there, done that. Couldn’t pay me enough to be a cop in this day and age.”
• “I used to, but with the way things are right now, no.”

While there were a few positive replies, including some from individuals interested in a police career, nearly all were focused on federal-level law enforcement positions rather than local officer positions. It is clear that the two primary drivers for the responses were the anti-police climate in our country and the relatively low pay. It is further evident that job seekers today are seeking other avenues of employment.

As Generation X members are now preparing for retirement, the younger generations are demanding more job flexibility, fewer challenging hours and are balking at working holidays or weekends. These are difficult issues to compromise on in the law enforcement field. The reality of our world is that job seekers’ attitudes have seemingly shifted from a sentiment of wanting to serve others to a question of, “What can this job do for me?”

There is no one particular cause for all the recruitment and retention woes facing our challenging profession. Some factors include widespread anti-police sentiment, legal prosecution of police officers for use-of-force incidents, attitudes about work–life balance and aversion to job risks. Many factors are entirely out of the hands of police executives. Numerous agencies have implemented changes in hiring and maintaining staff in hopes of attracting new officers and holding on to current ones. Let’s take a look at some strategies for both recruitment and retention that your agency may want to consider putting into place. Note: Not all of the following considerations will work for every agency, but many can be easily implemented.

Recruitment strategies

Financial incentives:

• Sign-on bonus: These can be paid out after the successful completion of the field training program or perhaps over a two- or three-year period.
• Academy reimbursement: Some states, like Missouri, allow for people to attend academies at their own cost (not all agencies offer in-service academies). These are expensive, often as high as $10,000. A reimbursement program can be adopted and paid out over a period of time of service.

Nontraditional benefits:

• College tuition reimbursement: A full-time police employee can be reimbursed for college courses attended (relative to their job descriptions in some cases). Agencies can add contingencies such as maintaining a grade of B or higher.
• Take-home patrol cars
• Free gym memberships or memberships in a health program
• Relocation (moving) reimbursements for employees moving from another area
• Uniform allowances and/or casual uniform options (polo shirts, cargo pants, etc.)

Reasonably reduced hiring requirements:

• An agency could consider less restrictive hiring requirements (allowances for tattoos, facial hair, minor criminal convictions, etc.)
• A more pleasant screening and interview process
• Offering part-time positions in lieu of a full-time position

Robust online presence:

• Post job announcements on department websites (and social media forums)

Review and evaluate hiring/recruitment policies:

• Assess your current hiring/recruitment policies to determine if they are too restrictive

Initiating opportunities to stimulate professional interest:

• Ride-along programs
• Internships (can be coordinated through high schools and colleges)
• Explorer or police cadet programs

Recruitment campaigns:

• Having a presence at job fairs, career day events, local community events or creating videos and social media posts

Employee referrals:

• Bonuses given to employees who refer candidates who are hired
• Lateral transfer recruitment (poaching)

Retention strategies

Create pathways to career development:

• Promotional opportunities
• Specialized duty/positions availability
• Instructor development program

Employee welfare:

• Employee wellness/assistance programs
• Train supervisors on recognizing signs of burnout and have remedies available
• Availability of other insurance options (AFLAC, etc.)

Employee recognition

• Officer of the month/quarter/year
• Commendations/awards for extraordinary actions and/or job performance
• An old-fashioned “slap on the back” for doing a good job goes a long way.
• Conspicuous support from supervisors and department leadership

Scheduling:

• More flexible scheduling
• Generous vacation and PTO

Additional retirement programs: 

• Employee-contributed investment funds, such as 403(b) or 401(k) type programs

Retention bonuses:

• Automatic pay raises (yearly, every three years, etc.)
• Sick time buyback programs (usually purchased as a percentage of the employee’s hourly wage)

Finding excellent employees has become a challenge for police departments. While this issue isn’t exclusive to law enforcement, our profession is experiencing it the worst. There is no magic formula that can solve this dilemma. Our greatest dilemma is getting our governing boards or commissions on board with recruitment and retention so that we can offer better pay and benefits at a minimum. Until the media and other high-profile organizations change their attitudes toward law enforcement, we will be ground zero for negative publicity. As department members, our part in this is to continue to do the good work our communities expect of us and work diligently to attract quality candidates to join us in this noble profession.