Dallas Police Department Hires over 300 Recruits, Exceeding Goal

Between October 2024 and the end of September, the Dallas Police Department hired 330 recruits and officers, and the latest recruit class is the second-largest in the agency's history.

By Chase Rogers

Source The Dallas Morning News

Oct. 15, 2025

3 min read

What to know

The Dallas Police Department exceeded its city council hiring goal, bringing on 330 recruits and officers between October 2024 and September 2025 amid new recruitment and retention strategies.
The department credited increased marketing, higher starting pay, relaxed entry requirements and referral bonuses for the improvement, while attrition dropped to a five-year low of 176 officers.
The milestone comes as the city faces pressure to meet Proposition U’s mandate for a 4,000-officer force and ongoing legal disputes over public safety funding and pension obligations.

Between October 2024 and the end of September, the Dallas Police Department hired 330 recruits and officers, and the latest recruit class is the second-largest in the agency's history.

Dallas police officials said Tuesday the department had surpassed its recruiting goal set by city council members earlier this year, hiring more than 300 recruits since last October.

Deputy Chief Jordan Colunga told members of the city’s Public Safety Committee — the body of city council members overseeing the city’s police, fire, and emergency management operations — the department hired 330 recruits and officers between October and the end of September. The committee roundly celebrated the milestone during their monthly meeting, calling it a sign the department’s stepped-up marketing and hiring strategies are beginning to pay off.

Their praise came against the backdrop of a court battle over the fire and police pension and two charter amendments — Propositions S and U — approved by voters last year that changed how city government operates.

Proposition U requires the city to maintain a police force of at least 4,000 officers — the department had 3,280, as of Sept. 30 — and move half of any new revenue year over year to the pension system and public safety initiatives. It also mandates that starting pay and benefits be among the most competitive in North Texas.

Dallas HERO, the nonprofit that backed the amendments, has said it may sue to compel the city to meet the requirements. Damien LeVeck, the nonprofit’s executive director, declined to comment on the city exceeding the council-set hiring goal when reached Tuesday.

Proposition S requires the city to waive its governmental immunity and allows any resident to file a lawsuit alleging the municipal government isn’t complying with the charter, local ordinances or state law.

In February, the city council, after debate over the figure, voted 12-2 to set the 300 goal through the end of September. Council members Cara Mendelsohn and Jesse Moreno, the public safety committee’s chair and vice chair, respectively, voted against the measure and argued for a goal of 400 — a figure some, including then-interim Chief Michael Igo and Dallas’ largest police association, worried would have strained the department.

The department adopted several measures to strengthen recruiting, including lowering entry requirements to deepen the applicant pool, holding off-site testing events, raising starting salaries, and offering tiered referral bonuses that reward officers for recruits who remain with the department over time.

From October 2024 through September, the department processed more than 1,200 police applicants, Colunga told the committee. The department reported that most applicants were drawn by the city’s website, 22%; officer referrals, 19%; and social media, 19%.

The six recruit classes since November 2024 have brought in between 38 and 76 recruits each. The class of 76, which started on Sept. 24, is the second-largest in the department’s history.

Mendelsohn praised those results, saying she recognized former Dallas police Chief Eddie García and Chief Daniel Comeaux for making “fundamental” changes to how the department markets itself and draws applicants.

Attrition fell to 176 officers, the lowest in five years, and was down from 192 in fiscal year 2023-2024 and more than 230 in earlier cycles, according to materials presented to the committee. Retirements accounted for the largest share of departures at 63, followed by resignations for personal reasons at 37 and transfers to other public-safety agencies at 19.

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