The Dallas City Council voted unanimously on June 25 to remove the college credit requirement for police officer applicants, in a move aimed at increasing recruitment and meeting a new staffing mandate approved by voters.

Under the revised hiring standards, applicants no longer need any prior college experience to join the Dallas Police Department. Instead, one of the new minimum qualifications for entry-level applicants is a high school diploma or GED, along with three years of steady, full-time work experience. Applicants must also be at least 21 years old, legally eligible to drive in Texas and have received an honorable discharge if they’ve served in the military.

“What we’re looking for is good people who have stable working history, who have shown progression, that are mature, responsible applicants to become police officers,” Assistant Police Chief Israel Herrera told council members.

The change is part of the city’s broader strategy to address a growing personnel shortfall in the department. In November, Dallas voters approved a charter amendment requiring the police force to grow to at least 4,000 officers. As of early June, Dallas had 3,215 officers, leaving a significant gap to fill.

Herrera noted that Dallas modeled its updated requirement after Houston’s, which includes a similar provision for three years of full-time work. He also shared that the city will partner with the University of North Texas at Dallas, allowing police recruits to earn up to 45 college credit hours through academic work completed at the Dallas Police Academy.

Applicants who do not meet the new standard can still qualify under existing pathways, including:

• Having at least 45 hours of college credit
• Possessing three years of certified law enforcement experience
• Holding an active license with the state’s law enforcement regulatory agency
• Having three years of active military service with an honorable discharge

The new policy was supported by the Dallas Civil Service Board and the City Council’s public safety committee. City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert described the adjustment as a pilot program, saying the city will evaluate the results in a year to determine its effectiveness on expanding the hiring pool.

Not everyone was fully on board with the specific requirements. Council member Adam Bazaldua proposed an amendment to reduce the work experience requirement from three years to two, arguing that a three-year mandate could still act as a barrier for young applicants.

“I don’t necessarily think that from 18 years old to 21 years old, expecting there to be 36 months of consecutive employment history is realistic,” Bazaldua said. “And so if the intent of this is to remove barriers, I’m hoping that we can make this policy change actually be something that removes barriers and opens up better opportunities.”

His motion was ultimately rejected, with other council members stressing the importance of ensuring applicants possess a certain level of maturity and responsibility.

“We’re not talking about clerical jobs here; we’re talking about police officers who have guns and are out in public,” council member Paul Ridley said. “If we’re going to eliminate the college requirement, we at least have to have an employment requirement that shows that they are focused and reliable and will show up.”

The council’s decision comes as the city works to meet an ambitious hiring target. Dallas previously set a goal of 250 new officers annually, but repeatedly fell short. Last year marked a rare exception, and in February, officials raised the target to 300 hires for the current fiscal year, which ends in September. Herrera told the council that the department is on pace to hit that number, having hired 201 new officers since October 1 while losing 108 during the same period.

If Dallas reaches its goal of 4,000 officers, it would mark the highest staffing level in the city’s history. The department had close to 3,700 officers in 2010, when Dallas’ population was slightly under 1.2 million. Today, the city is home to 1.3 million residents, and leaders say a larger force is critical to meeting public safety needs.