Houston Police Cadet Classes See Spike: 'Our New Contract Appears to Be Bringing People In'

The Houston Police Department has now assembled two cadet classes since the city approved a new contract that will see officers receive 36.5% in raises over five years, both with numbers far outpacing 2024.

Academy Class No. 274 just began with more than 70 cadets, according to officials with the Houston Police Department. It follows on the heels of a 78-person class, according to Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers Union.

"Our new contract appears to be bringing people in," Griffith said. "We've now filled at least two classes, which is something we have not done in years."

The numbers are a big jump from cadet recruiting prior to the new contract. Cadets spend six months in their academy classes, according to Shay Awosiyan, spokesman for the police department. Class No. 271 just graduated with around 44 recruits. Class No. 272 will graduate in November with 55 people, Griffith said.

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.

In recent years, cadet classes have seen around five fewer officers graduate from the academy than the number that enter in each class, records show.

Griffith said in addition to the five regular academy classes scheduled for the current fiscal year, the agency is hosting a lateral class for 14 people looking to join HPD from other agencies. They include officers from New York, other agencies in Harris County and elsewhere, Griffith said.

The city council in May approved a new contract with the more than 5,200 officers at the Houston Police Department, a deal that will cost the city almost $1 billion over the course of five years.

The contract will give Houston police 36.5% in raises over the next five years. It will cost the city around $67 million this year and $832 million over five years.

In the months since Houston's new contract, other law enforcement agencies across the region have sought and received officer pay raises as well. It remains to be seen how the raises across the agencies might affect future recruiting. Agencies across the nation have reported that they've struggled to recruit officers in recent years.

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