Some recent statistics regarding police staffing are very troubling. In Leesburg, Virginia the number of applicants for the police department has dropped 90 percent in the past five years. Reno, Nevada has seen a 50 percent decline in applicants since 1997. Seattle PD reports that ten years ago they had 3,000 applicants for ten openings. Now they’ve have only 1,000 applicants for 70 positions—a drop of more than 90 percent. Fairfax, Virginia used to have 4,000 people take an entrance examination for the job five years ago. That number has shrunk to 300. Rural towns in the South have experienced an 80 percent drop in applicants taking the written exam.
Nationwide, the International Association of Chiefs of Police reports a growing shortage of manpower that touches both big and small cities. What’s driving the lack of applicants? A myriad of factors such as state and local budget shortfalls, retirements, resignations, and a thriving economy. The economy? Yes. A strong economy has led to more available jobs carrying larger salaries. A cop’s average annual salary is around $60,000. Many jobs in the private sector can offer higher pay and better benefits. Moreover, the private sector offers more flexibility. It’s difficult to move up in the police ranks versus a tech career, for example. Moreover, the cop job is dangerous. IBM, Microsoft, etc., are much more attractive and safer to young people than a job in law enforcement.
To combat the lack of recruits, some departments have eased their requirements. Since New Orleans is down more than 400 officers, they no longer automatically disqualify a candidate who may have been a drug user. In Aurora, Colorado, they stopped using military-style running tests. Instead they now check to see how quickly a candidate can get out of a squad car. In Maryland, they no longer reject an applicant who smoked marijuana more than five times since turning 21, or more than 20 times total. Louisville, Kentucky dropped its requirement that candidates have two years of college credit. Chicago, down almost 1,000 cops, is considering its prohibition on hiring anyone with a juvenile record.
Physical fitness has always been an important recruiting component. However, the younger generation’s lifestyle has changed dramatically. Online gaming and video games keep youngsters glued to their couches and desks. Their sedentary lifestyle results in increased numbers of obese young adults with little or no fitness level. These folks are ill-prepared to deal with the rigors of the job, and many PDs are finding a fitness requirement further limits the pool of qualified candidates.
Another impediment impacting the hiring of new officers is what’s known as “The Ferguson Effect.” That shooting incident involving an 18-year-old Black man and a white officer caused unrest in that town as well as others. That situation created a lack of trust of the police, as well as any interest in police jobs. According to Houston Police Chief Acevedo, "There's been a challenge and reluctance in minority communities, where there are trust issues with the police, to become involved in terms of a career with the police. Those are challenges that tend to be individual to those communities."
Louis Dekmar, president of the Police Chief’s Association, said, “To entice potential recruits, some departments are offering incentives like tuition reimbursement, signing bonuses, and in some cases, even retooling drug-use policies in order to avoid disqualifying candidates who had ‘exercised poor judgment’ in their youth.”
However, recruitment isn’t the only problem facing short-staffed police departments. Many of them also have a difficult time retaining officers. A study by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Center showed the attrition rate for police officers (14 percent) is higher than both nursing (12 percent) and teaching (13 percent). Attrition is a double-edged sword. While it hurts departments when officers retire or resign, the good news is there are constant vacancies giving ample opportunities for those wanting to become cops.
Darrel Stephens, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, says, “It’s not an 8-5 job with weekends off. The lifestyle is difficult for a lot of people. The younger generation is looking for work-life balance flexibility, but officers work nights, they work holidays.” Sociologists see a changing society. A study, Managing the Millennials, reports that professionals who “live to work” have mostly disappeared and have been replaced by a generation that “works to live.” The most successful recruiters stress salary, benefits, and time off, those things that the new generation looks for.
Recruiters must learn to be more aggressive in their approach and realize applicants are not just going to walk in the door. In addition, city fathers must increase salaries and benefits to not only attract more applicants, but also to retain the men and women already on the job.
STAY SAFE, BROTHERS AND SISTERS!
