Houston Police Welcome Largest Academy Class in Years; Union Credits New Contract

The Houston Police Department's newest academy class will have 79 recruits, up from 34 cadets last year, and the union's head says a new contract with hefty pay raises has been an effective recruiting tool.

By Matt deGrood

Source Houston Chronicle

Aug. 12, 2025

2 min read

What to know

Houston’s newest police academy class has 79 recruits, up from 34 in the previous class, following a new contract guaranteeing officers more than 36.5% in raises over five years.
Union president Doug Griffith credited the contract, effective in July, with boosting recruiting after years of staffing struggles in Houston and nationwide.
It remains unclear if future classes will match this pace, as recent academy graduations have varied widely in size.

The Houston Police Department Newest Academy Class Will Have 79 Recruits, Up From 34 Cadets Last Year, And The Union's Head Says A New Contract With Hefty Pay Raises Has Been An Effective Recruiting Tool

After years of recruitment struggles, the current Houston police academy class saw a 45-person spike from the prior one as a new police contract went into effect ensuring significant pay raises.

While the contract is still new — having only gone into effect at the start of July — Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said it's already serving as an effective recruiting tool for bringing in new officers.

The last class that started before the contract had 34 cadets, he said. Officials with the Houston Police Department recently announced the new class would have 79 recruits.

HPD officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the sudden surge in cadet numbers.

Ever since Mayor John Whitmire inked a new contract with the city's 5,200 officers, guaranteeing raises of more than 36.5% over the next five years, city leaders have said they expected to see a big uptick in recruiting numbers.

While early results are promising, it remains to be seen whether future classes will maintain this pace. Both the Houston Police Department and agencies across the nation have struggled to recruit officers in recent years.

Through the first three classes in fiscal year 2025, Houston graduated 125 cadets, compared to 2024, where they'd graduated 118 cadets after two classes and 181 after three, according to police department data.

Police experts have said an ideal class would have around 75 cadets. But the first three classes of 2025 graduated 40, 38 and 47 cadets, records show. And the previous fiscal year's five classes graduated 53, 65, 63, 41 and 45 officers.

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