Responding To The Staffing Crisis: Innovations in Recruitment and Retention

CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIES
Responding to the Staffing Crisis:

Innovations in Recruitment and Retention
August 2023
This publication was supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation. The points of
view expressed herein are the authors’ and do not necessarily represent the opinions of
the Motorola Solutions Foundation or all Police Executive Research Forum members.
Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C. 20036
Copyright © 2023 by Police Executive Research Forum
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 978-1-934485-70-5
Graphic design by Dave Williams

Contents
A Message From Keeping Recruits Engaged and Supported......... 39

PERF’s Executive Director................. 1 Mentoring and Providing Pathways
for Success........................................................... 40
Executive Summary........................... 3 Adopting a Holistic Approach
Sidebar: Information Gathered for This Report........ 8 to Recruiting and Hiring...................................... 40
Section 1: Understanding Section 3: Officer Retention............ 42

the Police Staffing Crisis.................. 10 Sidebar: “Taking the Temperature” of Officers...... 43
Staffing Crisis Has Several Causes....................... 12 Addressing Long-Standing Issues

Sidebar: Agencies Assessing Their With Officer Well-Being...................................... 43
Staffing Issues......................................................... 12 Giving Officers a Larger Voice in the Agency...... 45
The Impact of Agency Operations and Creating Opportunities for Officers
Community Relations.......................................... 16 to Grow Within the Agency................................. 46
Sidebar: Understanding Younger Workers’
Values, Priorities, and Expectations........................ 17 Showing Support From Agency Leadership........ 47
Gaining Support From the Local Community..... 48
Section 2: Candidate Recruitment
and Hiring........................................ 19 Section 4: Financial Incentives
Recruitment Activities Broadcast as a Recruitment and Retention
an Agency’s Priorities and Values........................ 19 Strategy........................................... 50
Attracting a Broader Range of Candidates......... 20 Agencies Offering Variety
Sidebar: Improving Racial and Gender Diversity of Recruitment Incentives.................................... 50
Can Benefit Officers, Agencies, and Recruitment Incentives
Communities........................................................... 21
Have Only Limited Benefits................................. 52
Revisiting Hiring Standards................................. 25
Agencies Also Offering Retention
Sidebar: Prince William County Incentives............................................................ 53
Improved Diversity by Updating Recruiting
and Hiring Practices................................................ 30 Money Alone Isn’t Enough
to Keep Good Officers........................................ 54
Adopting Innovative Recruiting Strategies.......... 32
Sidebar: LAPD Launches “Housing for Hires”
Sidebar: PERF and Police Departments Partner
to Boost Recruiting................................................. 55
With HBCUs for Internships.................................... 36
Streamlining the Hiring Process.......................... 37

Section 5: Agency Operations......... 57 Conclusion: Insights &
Revising Officers’ Time on and off the Clock...... 57 Recommendations
to Help Agency Leaders.................. 67
Improving Efficiency............................................ 59
Greater Use of Professional Staff......................... 61
Examples of Strategies
Responding to Mental Health Calls..................... 62 Discussed in This Report.................. 68
Investing in Analysts............................................ 62
Setting Priorities and Expectations About the Police Executive
With the Community........................................... 63 Research Forum............................... 69
Sidebar: Estimating an Agency’s Workload
Demands................................................................. 65
About the Motorola Solutions
Foundation...................................... 70
A Message From
PERF’s Executive Director
Police agencies face no greater challenge

today than recruiting and retaining enough quali-
fied officers to meet rising demands to provide
services and address violent crime. So when the
easing of the COVID-19 pandemic made it possible
for PERF to resume holding large in-person issue
forums, the workforce crisis was the logical topic for
our first such conference.
“Innovations in Recruitment and Retention to
Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges,” held on November 3,
2022 in Washington, DC, drew roughly 275 partici-
pants from across the country and was a striking
success. Nearly 100 people signed up to attend in just describe changes they’ve made that have had an
the first 24 hours after registration opened, and before impact. As you will read in this report, many of
long we reached the venue’s maximum capacity. This those changes are designed to help officers see the
swift, sizable response — and the animated discus- organization as a place where they can grow and
sion we had throughout the day — is a testament to thrive, and where they can earn respect and honor.
the significance of this issue for law enforcement and The harsh public scrutiny of policing in the
the commitment of those stakeholders to address- current climate is a major reason for today’s staffing
ing it. I hope this report, which builds on PERF’s crisis, of course, and when I asked the conference
2019 report “The Workforce Crisis, and What Police whether they would want their son or daughter to
Agencies Are Doing About It,” will help members of follow in their footsteps and enter policing, consid-
the profession address this vital issue. erable concerns were expressed. Many, though, were
Participants at the conference agreed that we still supportive. Detective Sergeant David Hornsby
are at a critical moment in policing. Many younger of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Police said:
officers are resigning and older officers are retiring, “This is still the noblest profession and it’s a
even as applications plummet. Departments are calling. And if my two daughters have a call-
competing for existing officers, making one departing to do this, then I will support them any
ment’s solution another department’s problem. and every way I can.”
Departments also are struggling to attract younger
and more diverse candidates. The conference gave The conference and PERF’s related information-
representatives from a wide range of departments gathering activities, which together form the basis
— small and large, urban and rural — a chance to of this report, reflect the efforts and support of
share their struggles and frustrations, but also to many dedicated stakeholders and professionals.
Police Executive Research Forum A Message From PERF’s Executive Director — 1

PERF would like to thank the conference attendees, led the project’s research and management efforts.
the more than 250 agencies that took the time to Interviews were also conducted by Senior Research
complete our questionnaire on recruitment, reten- Associates Kristen McGeeney and Jason Cheney,
tion, and operational issues, and the more than 100 Research Associates Dustin Richardson and Dani-
law enforcement officials who participated in one- elle Fenimore, Senior Principal Nancy Demme,
on-one virtual interviews with PERF staff. and Senior Research Assistant Zoe Mack. Research
This 47th Critical Issues in Policing series report Assistant Rachael Thompson, Senior Research Assis-
was made possible by the generous support of the tant Kevin Lucey, and Research Associate Ashley
Motorola Solutions Foundation. PERF is grateful Richards assisted with notetaking and transcription.
to Motorola for this long-standing and productive Communications Principal James McGinty
partnership, which has enabled PERF to research the helped organize the topics of discussion for the
most pressing issues facing law enforcement agencies conference and provided invaluable assistance in
and provide law enforcement executives with useful making it run smoothly. Executive Editor John
guidance and recommendations. Previous reports in Springer edited this report. Communications Asso-
this series are listed on the back cover of this publi- ciate Dustin Waters photographed the conference.
cation; individual reports may be accessed at https:// Executive Assistant Soline Simenauer helped keep
www.policeforum.org/critical-issues-series. me organized and on track for the conference.
PERF would like to thank Greg Brown, Motorola Dave Williams designed and laid out the report.
Solutions Chairman and CEO; Jack Molloy, Execu- Throughout this project, PERF has benefited
tive Vice President of Products and Sales; Jason from the advice and expertise of consultants
Winkler, Executive Vice President and Chief Ganesha Martin and Dr. Jeremy Wilson. Ms.
Financial Officer; John Zidar, Senior Vice President, Martin, the President & CEO of GMM Consult-
North America Government; Tracy Kimbo, Chief ing, LLC and Vice President of Public Policy and
of Staff, Global Enterprise and Channels; Monica Community Affairs at Mark43, is recognized as an
Mueller, Vice President of Government Affairs; expert in legal, public safety, community, and law
Shamik Mukherjee, Chief Marketing Officer; Karem enforcement relations issues. Dr. Wilson, Professor
Perez, Executive Director of the Motorola Solu- at Michigan State University’s School of Criminal
tions Foundation; Wesley Anne Barden, Manager of Justice, has written extensively for scholars and
Evaluation and Grantmaking at the Foundation; and practitioners on police staffing and personnel plan-
Matthew Starr, Director of Government Affairs and ning as well as other law enforcement issues.
Privacy Policy.
Our 2019 report on the staffing crisis in polic-
I also would like to thank Chief Peter New- ing helped raise awareness of the seriousness of the
sham of the Prince William County (VA) Police problem, which until then had received relatively
Department and Chief Jeffrey Mori of the Vancou- little public attention. I hope the strategies described
ver (Canada) Police Department for their review in this new report, which features the voices and
and feedback on PERF’s questionnaire and Chief ideas of hundreds of law enforcement officials
Newsham for information on how his department across the country, will help agencies build and
has updated its recruiting and hiring practices (see maintain the workforce required to respond to the
page 30). needs of their communities.
While all PERF projects are a team effort, this
first post-pandemic project was so large that almost
every member of PERF’s staff had a role. Tom Wil-
son, Director of PERF’s Center for Management and
Technical Assistance, led the project team’s efforts Chuck Wexler
and report-writing together with Senior Princi- Executive Director
pal Dave McClure and Senior Research Associate Police Executive Research Forum
Rachel Apfelbaum; McClure and Apfelbaum also Washington, D.C.
2 — A Message From PERF’s Executive Director Police Executive Research Forum

Executive Summary
Not long ago, law enforcement agencies emerged in police recruitment and retention. That
typically received more than 100 applications for trend continued and the challenges increased over
every open position. Sorting through all the appli- the tumultuous 2020-2022 period, as the findings
cations was a much greater concern than trying to from PERF member questionnaires show:
recruit more applicants. Even if the hiring process • Officer retirements and resignations have
took many months and applied highly exclusion- increased. Sixty-five percent of agencies reported
ary eligibility criteria, agencies still had more than an increase in retirements between 2020 and
enough qualified applicants willing and able to stick 2022, and 66 percent reported an increase in
it out to have a chance to become a cop. resignations.
Those who made it entered their rookie years • Applications for open officer positions have
expecting to “pay their dues” through tough assign- decreased. Sixty-nine percent of agencies saw a
ments in exchange for a well-respected job where drop in the number of applications for full-time
they could build a long career. Meanwhile, agency officer positions between 2020 and 2022.
leaders could reasonably expect these new officers
to spend those long careers in their department, • Officer staffing levels are dropping. Overall
where they would build valuable experience, officer staffing levels fell by 4.8 percent between
reinforce the organization’s culture, and add stability January 2020 and January 2023.
to the agency’s staffing levels.
Many agencies attribute the bulk of their
Today, most agencies face an increasingly recruitment and retention challenges to a combina-
urgent staffing crisis that is very different from tion of souring public perceptions of the policing
“the way things used to be.” profession, generational shifts in the values and
When PERF began examining this issue in expectations of younger workers, and changes
2018, a clear and worrying trend had already in police roles and responsibilities. Increasing
Next to violent crime, this is the most important thing that all of us are
facing. We’re facing it in our large departments, small departments,
mid-sized departments, urban, suburban, and rural. We all are dealing
with the same thing, because we’re all competing for a small number of
qualified applicants.
Commissioner Michael Harrison, Baltimore (MD) Police Department
and President of PERF
Police Executive Research Forum Executive Summary — 3

competition among law enforcement agencies to social service needs or fewer community demands
recruit and retain the best officers has contributed on the police.
to the problem. Clearwater, Florida is a prime example of a
Law enforcement agencies are using a variety of jurisdiction benefiting from these favorable condi-
tactics to out-compete other agencies for the shrink- tions. Police Chief Dan Slaughter explained how
ing pool of applicants who meet the traditional these conditions help his agency:
profile of an officer, while also trying to attract a
“Clearwater is a very beautiful city, it’s a very
wider range of new recruits to the profession. At the
safe city, not a lot of violent crime, and there’s
same time, agencies are using a variety of tactics to
a lot of community support. That certainly
retain their current officers.
works in my favor. From a marketing stand-
Financial incentives are a common approach point, I can put up pretty pictures of the
to improving recruitment and retention but are beach and it works very well. . . . [Also,] the
not always effective and carry downsides. benefit of a mid-sized agency is that it’s easier
Financial incentives are by far the most common to turn on a dime and to have a personal
tactic agencies are using to boost recruitment and relationship with every single employee. . . .
retention. However, they have important drawbacks, So fortunately, we’re doing okay.
such as the ever-rising cost of increasing bonuses to “Politics plays a part as well. I’m not
remain competitive with other agencies. Also, the favoring one party or the other — our job
agencies most affected by the staffing crisis often have is to be pretty apolitical — but Florida has
less success with financial incentives, which suggests come out as a law-and-order state, very pro-
there is more to the problem than money can solve. law enforcement. And whether we agree or
Favorable local conditions have helped insu- disagree with that, it certainly makes it an
late some agencies from the staffing challenges attractive place to people who may not feel
facing most other agencies. that exists elsewhere.”
In a PERF survey, 14 percent of agencies
reported that the number of applications for full- An agency’s operations and community rela-
time sworn positions stayed the same between 2020 tions affect — and are affected by — its success in
and 2022 and 17 percent say it increased. Agencies recruiting and retaining officers.
less affected by staffing challenges tend to be those Because of these interactions, agency efforts to
in jurisdictions with good community relations or improve recruitment or retention can have unin-
“pro-police” attitudes and favorable operating con- tended, negative consequences. The graphic below
ditions, such as relatively low crime rates and lower outlines two examples.
An increase in A decline in the A decline in A decline in the

retirements and number of officers applications can number of officers
resignations can can force an leave the agency can force an agency
leave the agency agency to impose with fewer officers. to reduce the level of
with fewer officers. mandatory overtime. services it provides.
The increased Mandatory A weakening A reduction in

strain can lead overtime can of community police services can
to an increase in increase strain support weaken community
retirements and on officers. can reduce support for the
resignations. applications. agency.
4 — Executive Summary Police Executive Research Forum

Firestone is a smaller community that did not experience the same civil unrest as larger cities around
our country. We are fortunate to have a board of trustees, mayor, and town manager that prioritize
public safety along with a community that fully supports us. These factors combined have allowed me
to focus on recruiting because we do not have a lot of attrition here at Firestone.
Chief David Angelo, Firestone (CO) Police Department
Fortunately, the interactions among these four for example, combined many of the required
components (agency operations, recruitment, reten- tests and screenings into a single coordinated
tion, and community relations) can also benefit event that enabled applicants to go from com-
agencies, and many agencies are improving polic- pleting an application to receiving a conditional
ing by committing to strategies that span the four offer of employment in the same day.
components. The Prince William County (VA) Police
This report describes a number of such strate- Department completely overhauled its recruit-
gies. The following overall guidance, which previews ment and hiring practices to improve recruit-
some of these approaches, lists ten ways in which ment and build a department that mirrored the
agencies can address their staffing challenges and demographics of the community. Among other
strengthen themselves overall. changes, the department updated and clarified
its hiring guidelines and then posted them on
1. Re-examine hiring processes. The inefficient its website; reduced the personal history state-
and exclusionary hiring practices that agencies ment from 31 pages to nine; created targeted
relied on when they were flooded with applica- ads on Instagram and other social media plat-
tions are no longer viable now that applications forms; and strengthened recruiting at women’s
have slowed. Further, those processes shut out colleges, Historically Black Colleges and
promising non-traditional applicants and drive Universities (HBCUs), and Hispanic-Serving
away many younger workers — two groups that Institutions. As a result, while previously about
agencies must make greater efforts to attract. In 16 percent of the department’s academy classes
many areas it can take eight months or more to were female and about 40 percent were from
hire an officer, which is simply too long. underrepresented groups, those figures have
risen to 24 percent and 70 percent, respectively.
A number of agencies are taking steps to
make their application process simpler and Some agencies are also taking steps to move
faster. For example, the Battle Creek (MI) Police recruits into the academy more quickly rather
Department adopted an application that allows than having them wait many months for the
interested candidates to enter basic informa- next academy to begin. For example, the Okla-
tion, ensure they meet the requirements, and homa City (OK) Police Department has begun
then connect directly to the agency recruiters running smaller academies on a regular and
via text or call to ask questions. The department more frequent schedule, setting up logistics so
two staggered cohorts go through the academy
received over 95 applications in 90 days after
at the same time.
making this change, compared to 9 applications
using its traditional recruiting methods.
2. Adopt innovative recruiting strategies. Some
Other departments are using assessment agencies are using social media — including
centers or specialized hiring events to integrate light-hearted and entertaining TikTok videos,
and streamline the recruiting and hiring pro- Instagram posts, and Facebook pages — to
cesses. The Rockville (MD) Police Department, reach a younger, more diverse audience. The

Gilbert (AZ) Police Department, for example, 4. Update hiring standards. Some candidates
has broadcast live events on Facebook in both who are qualified and good fits for the needs of
English and Spanish. modern policing might not meet the traditional
Also, some agencies are undertaking new profile of an officer and might previously have
kinds of recruitment activities. The Gilbert been screened out through agencies’ hiring
Police Department holds a “workout with a standards. Successful agencies are carefully
hero” event at which people can work out with considering whether their standards — in areas
officers and learn how the officers improved such as education, physical ability testing, and
their own fitness, for example. Another example personal appearance — match the actual capa-
is the Cedar Rapids (IA) Police Department, bilities needed for the job.
which attends a career fair for student athletes. For example, the Montgomery County
Some agencies are being inventive in how (MD) Police Department has eliminated the
they identify the types of people they want to physical fitness test altogether, replacing it with
attract and then find them. Recruitment and medical examination to make sure candidates
Training Coordinator Nisse Lee Ramser of the are fit for duty. Also, a number of agencies are
Greenwood Village (CO) Police, for example, reconsidering their standards regarding prior
has recruited among bartenders and Starbucks substance use — especially marijuana use, given
baristas “because they can multitask under that more states are either decriminalizing it or
pressure with a customer service focus. Those legalizing its use. “Prior drug use is no longer
skills are incredibly transferable to dispatch and an automatic disqualifier given all of the recent
police work.” changes in law, specifically surrounding mari-
juana,” according to Lieutenant James Gordon
3. “Go upstream” to identify future officers. of the Virginia Beach (VA) Police Department.
Programs like police explorers, cadet programs,
Agencies stressed to PERF that in chang-
and internships are becoming more common
ing their eligibility criteria to “widen the net”
as agencies seek to nurture the recruits of the
of potential officers, they are seeking to attract
future by identifying youth currently interested
the highest-quality candidates from a larger and
in policing or even cultivating an interest in
more diverse population, rather than weakening
youth to move into the field of policing.
their standards to accept a lower-quality version
In the summer of 2022, for example, PERF of the traditional officer.
and the Baltimore Police Department (BPD)
partnered with two HBCUs, Morgan State 5. Offer recruitment incentives. Benefits such
University and Coppin State University, to pilot as take-home vehicles, child care support, and
a program through which eight students and education reimbursement can make an agency
recent graduates completed ten-week intern- more attractive to potential candidates. Agen-
ships at various BPD units. PERF expanded the cies are offering a range of such benefits.
program in 2023, and placed 30 students with
For example, the Los Angeles Police
agencies across the country.
Department, recognizing that lack of afford-
Another example is the Metro Nashville able housing was harming its recruiting efforts,
(TN) Police Department’s multi-program Law launched an innovative program in June 2022
Enforcement Collaborative initiative, which to provide rent subsidies for potential recruits.
includes camps and other activities for elemen- The “Housing for Hires” program offers recruits
tary and middle-school students and a Youth $1,000 a month to go toward rent for up to
Citizens Police Academy for older youth. two years, allowing them to complete their six
In addition, a few agencies, such as the months of academy training, undergo their one-
Vermont State Police, are offering internships to year probationary period, and settle into their
individuals transitioning from military service. first assignment with the department.

6. Be wary of lateral recruitment. Many agen- professional staff respond to traffic accidents
cies are offering cash incentives to attract that involve only property damage. The St.
officers from other agencies. These incentives Cloud (MN) Police Department created a
can be effective, but they are costly and inten- program that relies on retailers and community
sify the competition among agencies over the service officers to address shoplifting.
limited number of individuals available. Also, police departments in Baltimore
Lateral recruiting has other downsides as (MD), Mesa (AZ), and Phoenix (AZ) have cre-
well. An officer leaving one agency for another ated civilian investigator roles. These individu-
will bring the previous agency’s culture with als respond to a wide variety of cases other than
them, which might clash with the culture of active crime scenes, and they have many duties
their new agency. And agencies also have only that parallel police roles, such as collecting evi-
a limited ability to learn about any miscon- dence and interviewing witnesses.
duct an officer may have committed at a prior While some calls for service can be handled
agency. To protect against problematic lateral by non-law-enforcement personnel, still others
officers entering the agency, the Oklahoma City — such as reports of petty theft or vandalism
(OK) Police Department requires laterals to — may not need a human response at all. The
attend full-length academies so that all recruits, Sarasota (FL) Police Department, for example,
whether they are new to the profession or have has created an updated website through which
previous experience, learn the department’s citizens can report minor crimes online.
values and culture.
9. To boost retention, help officers improve
7. Share burdens to help address under their well-being. Most successful agencies have
staffing. The choices agencies make about how found that retaining officers requires ensuring
to operate while understaffed can affect — in the department is a place where officers want to
positive or negative ways — their ability to work — a place where they spend their careers,
recruit and retain officers. Extended periods of where they can grow and thrive, and where they
mandatory overtime can cause officer burnout, can earn respect and honor. An important way
so some agencies have taken steps to lessen agencies can build a more positive culture is by
overtime burdens. The New Bedford (MA) prioritizing officers’ mental health. The events
Police Department has adopted a policy prohib- of the past few years, including the pandemic
iting overtime two days in a row, for example, and the public fallout from police-involved
while the Dunwoody (GA) Police Department shootings, have added to the already high stress
requires all sworn staff to take part in overtime levels under which police officers work, which
regardless of seniority. can lead to burnout and cause officers to leave
The Santa Monica (CA) Police Department, the profession.
which traditionally addressed staffing shortages Agencies are taking various steps to improve
at the division level, chose to break down the their officers’ health and wellness. For example,
silos between divisions and address the patrol the Lynchburg (VA) Police Department provides
staffing shortage at an all-agency level to assure a post-academy training program on emotional
patrol was sufficiently staffed. survival for law enforcement that staff complete
with a family member or significant other. Also,
8. Make greater use of professional staff. all sworn and professional staff must undergo an
A number of agencies have shifted low-priority annual mental health checkup called “a checkup
work from officers to civilians. For example, the from the neck up.”
Aurora (CO) Police Department has launched
a community service officer program in which

10. Build community support. How a community Agencies can take steps to overcome these
thinks about its local police can make a huge negative perceptions with positive actions.
difference in the agency’s ability to recruit and For example, they can reach out to minor-
retain officers. For example, as Yasmine Bry- ity communities through activities such as
ant, a participant in PERF’s HBCU internship PERF’s HBCU internship program. As noted,
program (see page 36), explained: above, they can create cadet programs (as
many departments have) and “go upstream”
“What we think is preventing young people to identify future officers. They can develop a
from wanting to become a police officer is community advisory board and seek advice on
what they see in the media, but that’s not
developing a broad-based approach.
necessarily true. Even before George Floyd,
Breonna Taylor, and so on . . . those were Agencies can also design their recruit-
not the first names that we knew of, and ment campaigns to showcase the agency’s
especially not for minorities. They learned priorities and values. Campaigns that focus on
from their mothers or their fathers, their service-oriented roles and de-escalation send a
grandparents or great grandparents, who very different message to the community than
lived through the crack epidemic, who those emphasizing SWAT-style operations, and
lived through the ‘60s, who lived through increased public support for the agency could
slavery. They have all been told by their boost recruitment over both the short and long
family members not to go into this profes- term.
sion because of their lived experiences.”
Information Gathered for This Report

To understand agencies’ challenges with recruiting and retaining officers, as well as the efforts
many agencies are undertaking to address them, PERF conducted extensive background research,
collected and analyzed responses from more than 250 member questionnaires, conducted one-on-
one interviews with over 100 police leaders, and convened 275 stakeholders in Washington, DC on
November 3, 2022 for a discussion forum on the issue.
Member Questionnaire
To develop a questionnaire that would most accurately capture the current challenges of recruiting
and retention, PERF conducted a review of the research and considered the data collection
conducted for PERF’s 2019 report on the topic.1 PERF drafted a questionnaire that built upon the
questionnaire used in that report. This draft was pilot-tested with two police leaders, Chief Peter
Newsham of the Prince William County (VA) Police Department and Chief Jeffrey Mori of the
Vancouver (Canada) Police Department; their feedback was used to improve the final questionnaire.
PERF emailed the final questionnaire in October 2022 to police chiefs and other PERF
members who are heads of their agencies, for a total of 1,068 potential respondents. This sampling
methodology paralleled the methodology used for the 2019 report questionnaire. The October 2022
questionnaire had a response rate of 25 percent, with 266 completed questionnaires.
1. Police Executive Research Forum, “The Workforce Crisis, and What Police Agencies Are Doing About It,”
September 2019, https://www.policeforum.org/assets/WorkforceCrisis.pdf.

Figure 1: PERF Questionnaire Respondents
Respondents represented by Agency Size
agencies from 40 states,
Washington, DC, and Canada.2 32%
Small, medium, and large agencies
were all represented (see Figure
1), in proportions similar to the 42%
agencies that responded to the 2019 26%
report questionnaire. PERF used
information from the questionnaire
to develop questions for in-depth
interviews and content for the Small Medium Large
Washington, DC conference. (1–49 full-time (50–249 full-time (250 or more full-time
sworn personnel) sworn personnel) sworn personnel)
Interviews With Law
Enforcement Officials Source: PERF Membership Questionnaire on Recruitment and
Retention, October 2022
PERF invited its more than 3,000
members to attend the conference.
PERF’s membership includes police
officials, academics, federal government officials, and others interested in policing and criminal
justice. Individuals who registered for the meeting were given the opportunity to participate in an
in-depth interview so PERF could learn more about their agency’s recruiting and retention challenges
and strategies to overcome them.
PERF conducted more than 100 one-on-one interviews with law enforcement executives, officers
responsible for recruiting and retention, and Department of Justice officials. PERF developed an
interview protocol based on results of the questionnaire, stakeholder discussions, background
research, and PERF’s previous work. PERF revised the protocol as interviews progressed and
interviewers gained more knowledge. PERF used information from the interviews to develop themes
and topics for the national conference and this report.
National Conference
On November 3, 2022 PERF held a conference
titled, “Innovations in Recruitment and Retention
to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges,” in Washington,
DC. Approximately 275 stakeholders from over
120 agencies attended. Although PERF set the
agenda for the meeting, provided preliminary
findings from its questionnaire to illustrate
national trends, and showed video and media
clips to give voice to these trends, PERF relied on
conference participants to share their first-hand
knowledge about programs and strategies they
are using to address the staffing crisis.
Representatives from law enforcement agencies
PERF used information from the conference,
across the country gather in Washington, DC, for
PERF’s meeting on recruitment and retention.
along with the findings from the questionnaires
and interviews, to develop this report.
2. The states not represented are Alaska, Hawai’i, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South
Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Section 1: Understanding
the Police Staffing Crisis
In 2019, PERF published a major report titled

“The Workforce Crisis, and What Police Agencies
One of our challenges is the shrinking
Are Doing About It.” A PERF member survey on
applicant pool. We have far fewer applicants
which the report was based revealed a “triple threat”
than in years past.
facing police agencies and sheriffs’ offices:
Chief Billy Cordell, Burleson (TX)
1. Fewer people were applying to become officers. Police Department
2. More officers were leaving their
departments — and, in many cases,
leaving the policing profession —
well before they reached retirement
Figure 2: The Growing Crisis in Police Staffing
age.
3. A growing number of current 80%
officers were becoming eligible for 64% 78%
retirement. 60%
The report also warned that there
were ominous signs that the workforce 40%
27%
crisis in policing may get worse. 21%
32% 25%
More recent data confirm this 20%
trend. An annual survey of state and
local government employers by the 0%
MissionSquare Research Institute found 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
that the share of police organizations
that “had a hard time” filling positions Percentages of Police Organizations Indicating
more than doubled in 2021 and rose They Have a Hard Time Filling Policing Positions
again in 2022 to 78 percent, three times
the 2020 level.3 (See Figure 2.) Source: Center for State and Local Government Excellence Survey,
June 2022
3. For the most recent (2022) survey, see MissionSquare Research Institute, “State and Local Workforce 2022,” June 2022,
https://slge.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022workforce.pdf.
10 — Section 1: Understanding the Police Staffing Crisis Police Executive Research Forum
Data from recent PERF member surveys tell a overall,” Colonel Matt Langer of Minnesota State
similar story: Patrol reported.
• Applications fell for most law enforcement • Officer retirements and resignations have
agencies from 2020 to 2022. A PERF survey continued to increase. Roughly two-thirds of
in October 2022 found that more than twice as agencies responding to PERF’s October 2022
many agencies reported a decrease in applications survey reported an increase in retirements
as those reporting no change or an increase. (See between 2020 and 2022, and two-thirds reported
Figure 3.) an increase in resignations. (See Figure 4.)
In addition to receiving fewer applications Results from an April 2023 PERF survey give
overall, several agencies told PERF that they are a sense of the size of those increases. Agencies
finding fewer candidates they consider well quali- reported a 19 percent increase in retirements
fied to be officers than in the past. “We have had between 2019 and 2022 and a 47 percent increase
a hard time growing our workforce to fill funded in resignations, with many officers resigning to
positions, as well as recruiting quality candidates leave the profession entirely.4
Figure 3: How did the number of Figure 4: How did full-time sworn
applicants for full-time sworn positions retirements and resignations change
change between 2020 and 2022? between 2020 and 2022?
Increased Retirements 65% 66%

17%
Resignations
Stayed
the Same 34%
14% 30%
Decreased
69%
4%
1%
Percentage of Agencies Reporting the Decreased Stayed Increased
Number of Applicants for Full-Time Sworn the Same
Positions Decreased, Stayed the Same, or
Increased
Percentage of Agencies Reporting Full-
Note: N=244. This figure is lower than the total 266 agency Time Sworn Retirements and Resignations
questionnaires collected because 22 agencies elected not
to answer the question or answered “not sure.”
Decreased, Stayed the Same, or Increased
Source: PERF Member Questionnaire on Recruitment and
Retention, October 2022 Note: N=254 for retirements, 246 for resignations. These
figures are lower than the total 266 agency questionnaires
collected because some agencies elected not to answer the
question or answered “not sure.”
4. Police Executive Research Forum, “New PERF survey shows police agencies are losing officers faster than they can hire new ones,”
April 1, 2023, https://www.policeforum.org/staffing2023.
Police Executive Research Forum Section 1: Understanding the Police Staffing Crisis — 11
• Staffing is declining as officers leave faster The police staffing crisis is affecting profes-
than they are replaced. Fifty-five percent sional staff less than sworn officers. Only 33 percent
of agencies responding to the October 2022 of agencies said the number of their professional
survey indicated their full-time sworn personnel personnel declined between 2020 and 2022. Most
declined between 2020 and 2022. respondents said their professional staffing levels
either stayed the same or increased. (See Figure 5.)
Overall sworn staffing levels fell by 4.8 per-
cent between January 2020 and January 2023, the
April 2023 survey found.5 Staffing Crisis Has Several Causes
For each new officer joining a department in Some of the staffing challenges that law enforce-
2019, an average of 0.86 officers would leave. Just ment agencies now face are affecting public-sector
one year later, the flow of officers reversed, with employers generally, while others are specific to
1.29 officers leaving their agency for each officer policing.
who joined in 2020.
Figure 5: How did personnel staffing

Agencies Assessing levels change between 2020 and 2022?
Their Staffing Issues
Sworn Professional
To better understand their staffing barriers Personnel Personnel
and challenges, most agencies reported 55%
to PERF that they have reviewed their
applicant screening and hiring processes 45%
(76 percent of survey respondents),
projected the timing and impact of future
33%
retirements (69 percent), assessed staffing
needs (61 percent), and/or measured 26%
22%
employee satisfaction (57 percent). 19%
One of our challenges is that our retirements Decreased Stayed Increased

and resignations outpace our new hires. the Same
Major Greg Fried, Fairfax County (VA)

Police Department Percentage of Agencies Reporting Full-
Time Staffing Levels Decreased, Stayed
the Same, or Increased
Note: N=263 for sworn personnel, 260 for professional

personnel. These figures are lower than the total 266
agency questionnaires collected because some agencies
elected not to answer the question or answered “not sure.”
5. Ibid.
Strong Job Market Policing is vulnerable to competition from other
industries because it provides valuable work experi-
A growing economy, low unemployment, and ence and because many agencies invest heavily in
increasing options for remote work have made it professional development and education opportu-
easier for job seekers and current officers to find nities for their officers. While these are necessary
attractive employment opportunities outside of aspects of maintaining a modern police force, they
policing. These same challenges are affecting hiring can also make officers attractive candidates for other
in other public-sector organizations as well. types of employment. As Chief of Staff Marvin
Over the past three years, hiring has become Haiman of the Metropolitan (DC) Police Depart-
more difficult for many types of public-service roles. ment explained:
The previously mentioned survey that found 78
“We have a very well-educated workforce that
percent of police organizations had trouble filling
has a variety of career options. Individuals
positions in 2022 also found similar results for engi-
have found options with greater flexibility,
neering (78 percent) and nursing (83 percent).6 The
telework options, and more normal schedules.
armed forces have also struggled to maintain suf-
Since we had a large influx of hires between
ficient staffing, with the U.S. Army missing its 2022
2017-2019, most serve about 3 years until
recruitment goals by 25 percent (15,000 soldiers).
they decide to leave again.”
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth explained the
reasons for the shortfall: In PERF’s survey, two-thirds of agen-
cies reported at least some of their officers left
“We’re competing for talent just like all the
law enforcement altogether after resigning (see
folks in industry are, and the job market is
Figure 6).
hot right now. Wages have gone up a lot, and
that’s great for Americans, but it’s making it
harder for us in the Army to compete.” 7
Figure 6: Resigning Officers Most Commonly Leave Police Departments for the Following
Career outside of law enforcement 68%
Another law enforcement agency 64%
Relocating for reasons outside of job 22%
Leaving workforce 13%
Private security 11%
Percentage of Agencies That Reported Officers Resigning Starting in 2020 Most Commonly
Resign for Specified Positions
Note: N=252. Each agency could pick multiple items from the list and was asked to indicate the most common types of positions
that officers take after resigning. Fourteen agencies were removed from the analysis because they reported that their agency
does not collect this information.
Source: PERF Member Questionnaire on Recruitment and Retention, October 2022
6. MissionSquare Research Institute, p. 10.

7. Ian Thomas, “The U.S. Army is struggling to find the recruits its needs to win the fight over the future,” CNBC, October 26, 2022,
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/26/us-army-struggles-to-find-recruits-its-needs-to-win-fight-of-future.html.
The problem of recruitment has been building for 20 years, but now it’s aggravated by the loss of
veteran officers and lower retention rates. It has been aggravated by the negative narrative from big
media and misleading portrayals of officers.
Chief Robert Bage, Fort Walton Beach (FL) Police Department
Overall, PERF’s most recent survey showed that Negative Public Image
while hiring has nudged up slightly, retirements and
resignations are continuing at a worrisome pace. Negative public perceptions and media portrayals
The bottom line is that departments cannot hire of police have made the job far more difficult and
enough officers to offset the number that are retir- less fulfilling for many officers, contributing to the
ing or resigning. And this is happening all across recent increase in retirements and resignations.
the country. In the first half of 2020, the police killings of
Breonna Taylor and George Floyd sparked civil
Competition From unrest in many parts of the country and generated
Other Law Enforcement Agencies harsh, widespread criticism of law enforcement
generally. Shortly afterward, a Gallup poll showed
Many respondents to PERF’s survey reported confidence in the police fell to 48 percent, the lowest
that some of their officers were going to other law level in the survey’s 27-year history. Calls to “defund
enforcement agencies. More and more, agencies the police” became common. ABC news reported
are competing with one another for well-qualified that an “analysis of broadcast transcripts shows that
candidates and experienced officers. As discussed [political] candidates, law enforcement leaders and
below (see page 50), many departments are offering television hosts discussed the impact of ‘defunding
ever-increasing financial incentives to try to attract the police’ more than 10,000 times” between mid-
the best qualified candidates, including experienced 2020 and mid-2022.8
officers from other agencies. Though not unique
to policing, the use of financial incentives to com-
Health Risks From COVID-19
pete for talent with other organizations in the same
industry seems to be approaching unprecedented The COVID-19 pandemic made policing even more
levels within the profession. uncertain and dangerous. During the height of the
pandemic, officers were often the only non-medical
responders available. The risk of exposure to the
virus threatened both officers and their families; in
fact, COVID was the leading cause of officer deaths
in 2020 and 2021.9 Other officers resigned rather
8. Grace Manthey, Frank Esposito, and Amanda Hernandez, “Despite ‘defunding’ claims, police funding has increased in many
US cities,” ABC News, October 16, 2022, https://abcnews.go.com/US/defunding-claims-police-funding-increased-us-cities/
story?id=91511971.
9. Rachel Treisman, “COVID was again the leading cause of death among active-duty law enforcement in 2021,” WAMU, January 12,
2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072411820/law-enforcement-deaths-2021-covid. For more information and data on officer
deaths due to COVID, see the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), https://nleomf.org/. NLEOMF data
show that COVID remained the leading cause of officer deaths in 2022; see https://nleomf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2022-EOY-
Fatality-Rept-FINAL-opt.pdf.
It is very difficult to do this work because of stress and work schedules, especially when you have small
children and insufficient childcare.
Chief David Squires, Wrightsville Beach (NC) Police Department
than get the COVID vaccine. In 2020 and early balance. Policing historically has faced significant
2021, PERF’s “Daily COVID-19 Reports” identi- health and wellness issues — including officer
fied many issues that the pandemic posed for law suicide, substance use disorders, divorce, and post-
enforcement, such as addressing potential COVID traumatic stress disorder — that may concern or
exposure of officers, responding to protests and civil deter potential recruits, though a growing number
disturbances in the COVID environment, and keep- of agencies are working to address these issues. (See
ing the virus out of jails.10 page 43.) More commonplace issues affecting work-
life balance, such as challenges with scheduling,
Less Appeal to Younger Workers childcare options, and housing costs, can also make
policing less attractive to potential applicants.
The benefits and some of the most traditionally On top of the above challenges, many agen-
attractive aspects of a career in policing do not seem cies have large cohorts of senior officers eligible to
to resonate with many younger workers. Policing retire. These agencies face the potential of suddenly
offers a number of the job attributes that young losing many experienced officers due to planned
workers say they most value, including the oppor- retirements or frustration with the changing nature
tunity to help people and do meaningful work, of police work, such as negative public perceptions
day-to-day variety in work experiences, and auton- of the police or the threat of COVID-19 exposure
omy and the opportunity to work outdoors. Yet (which is especially dangerous for older officers).
the negative media portrayals and souring public
perceptions of policing have obscured these selling At the same time, however, the presence of
points. And other benefits of a career in policing, many senior officers in some agencies leaves few
such as a traditional pension, are not as strong sell- advanced positions that early- and mid-career
ing points as in the past. officers can move into. This lack of opportunity can
make it harder for these agencies to retain those
Younger generations are also highly attuned to younger officers.
the importance of personal health and work-life
We are authorized 221 positions for a department that was operating at 233 before 2019. We currently
have 201 on the books. Out of the 201, 52 are within two years of retirement age. (Our retirement age
is 50.) Out of those 52, 37 are already retirement eligible.
Lieutenant Roberto Villegas, Santa Monica (CA) Police Department
10. The Daily Reports are available at https://www.policeforum.org/covid-19-response#daily.
The Impact of Agency Operations and But because agency operations, community
relations, candidate recruitment, and officer reten-
Community Relations
tion are all connected, positive changes in one area
An agency’s operations and its relations with the can produce significant benefits for other areas.
local community affect — and are affected by — its For example, a public recruitment campaign that
success in recruiting candidates and retaining cur- seeks to attract potential officers by showing the
rent officers. For example, agencies cannot operate
the same ways when they are understaffed as
when they are fully staffed. How they modify
their operations to cope with understaffing Agency
can further strain already tenuous com- Operations
munity relations if the department cannot
provide the types and levels of services the
community expects, especially if it already Community
faces elevated public criticism and scru- Relations
tiny. Operational decisions in response to
understaffing can also reduce job satisfaction
among current officers. Candidate Officer
These factors can feed on each other to Recruitment Retention
further erode community relations, make the
department less attractive to new recruits,
and drive even more officers to leave the
department — creating a downward cycle as agen- many ways in which the agency serves the com-
cies must then make further operational changes to munity could improve community understanding
account for further reductions in staff levels. and appreciation of the agency’s role and values.
This increased public support, in turn, could aid the
Some strategies that departments have adopted
agency in its daily operations and improve officer
to address their urgent need for more officers have
retention.
had unintended consequences that have worsened
the staffing crisis. For example, keeping or hiring The remainder of this report highlights a num-
problem officers, assigning mandatory overtime in ber of strategies that agencies across the country
uncoordinated or haphazard ways, or disbanding have adopted to strengthen their recruitment, reten-
certain specialized units can place greater strain on tion, operations, and community support.
officers, increasing the chances they will leave the
agency.
Not only is it becoming increasingly hard to just attract applicants, but it is also extremely difficult to
attract qualified applicants. Once you do get applicants, it is difficult to find the personnel to conduct
the background checks given the personnel shortages that we experienced. It has been a slow ramp
up to overcome the internal infrastructure [i.e., Agency Operations] challenges to allow for hiring and
processing at the level needed.
Lieutenant Roberto Villegas, Santa Monica (CA) Police Department
Understanding Younger Workers’ Values, Priorities,
and Expectations
As members of each new generation enter the workforce, police departments need to consider
their values, expectations, and priorities in order to successfully recruit and retain them. Millennials
(people born between 1981 and 1996) now make up 35 percent of workers, more than any other
generation, and Generation Z (born 1997-2012) is set to constitute more than 25 percent of
the workforce in coming years.11 While statements about such large groups can only be rough
generalizations, Millennials and Generation Z overall do appear to view the world differently than the
generations that have historically dominated the workforce.
Both Millennials and Generation Z prioritize work-life balance, flexibility, and use of technology in
choosing a career.12 Millennials are especially likely to question authority, and they care more about
an employer’s reputation than its size or longevity.13 Seventy-six percent of Generation Z workers
would consider looking for a new job if their company lacked diversity and inclusion policies.14
These priorities may clash with those of the
Baby Boomers (born 1946-64) and Generation
X (born 1965-80), who are the current leaders
in most police agencies. They also set the
prevailing culture in the agency, which prioritizes
long-term careers, as well as more traditional and
conservative views.15
According to Senior Police Officer Terry
Cherry of the Charleston (SC) Police Department,
“Millennials are disruptors, they’re innovators,
and they want to have a social impact and
improve policing. And you have to let them
if you want them to work for you.” Joining a
profession or company that supports tangible
action on social justice is extremely important to Senior Police Officer Terry Cherry
both Millennials and Generation Z.16
>> continued on page 18
11. TeamStage, “Millennials in the Workplace Statistics: Generational Disparities in 2022,” https://teamstage.io/
millennials-in-the-workplace-statistics/#.
12. Shelly Kramer, “Millennials in the workforce: what really matters to them,” Dell Technologies Blog, January 22,
2015, https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/millennials-in-the-workforce-what-really-matters-to-them/.
13. BBC, “Millennials, baby boomers or Gen Z: Which one are you and what does it mean?” https://www.bbc.co.uk/
bitesize/articles/zf8j92p; Nikoletta Bika, “Millennials in the workplace: How to manage and engage them,” Resources
for Employers, https://resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/millennials-in-the-workplace.
14. Nela Richardson and Marie Antonello, “People at Work 2022: A Global Workforce View,” ADP Research Institute,
https://www.adpri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/PaW_Global_2022_GLB_US-310322_MA.pdf.
15. Jasmine Gordon, “Understanding Baby Boomers At Work: Fast Facts For CHROs,” Forbes, April 11, 2016,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adp/2016/04/11/understanding-baby-boomers-at-work-fast-facts-for-chros/
?sh=4b4ec270238b|; Boston College Global Workforce Roundtable, “Engaging Baby Boomers in the Workplace,”
October 2013, https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/centers/cwf/global/membersonly/pdf/Info%20Req%20
Engaging%20Boomers.pdf.
16. Porter Novelli, “2021 Porter Novelli Focus: Gen Z and Justice,” https://www.porternovelli.com/findings/
2021-porter-novelli-focus-gen-z-justice/.
continued from page 17
Generational differences like these can lead

to misunderstanding and negative stereotypes,
such as the belief among some older workers
that younger workers “don’t want to work.” But
police departments can successfully recruit and
retain younger workers if they show how the
profession can address their generational values.
For example, departments should clearly
state the organization’s expectations and values
as well as its diversity polices; they should be
as flexible as possible on issues related to staff
schedules; and they should take concrete steps
to ensure mental health and promote a healthy Members of the Charleston Police Department
work-life balance. They should also stress that Recruitment Team meet with attendees of the 2023
policing can be an exceptional way for a younger Charleston Black Expo.
worker to give back to their community and
assist in positive social change throughout their
career.17
17. For more on agencies’ efforts to recruit more younger officers, as well as law enforcement staffing challenges
generally, see PERF’s 2019 report, “The Workforce Crisis, and What Police Agencies Are Doing About It,”
https://www.policeforum.org/assets/WorkforceCrisis.pdf.
Section 2: Candidate Recruitment
and Hiring
Until recent years, agencies typically received Many agencies are making specific improve-
many applications for every opening. Recruiting ments to their recruitment and hiring practices;
candidates to increase the number of applications others are going one step further and streamlining
was not much of a priority. Rather, the challenge their application and hiring systems as a whole.
was to filter through applications to identify the Agencies also are enhancing their recruitment
very best candidates from among the many well- efforts to reach potential applicants who may not
qualified applicants. have considered a career in law enforcement as a
realistic possibility for themselves or people like
Under such conditions, agencies were not
them.
penalized if they used application and hiring
systems that today seem cumbersome, slow, and
inefficient. In fact, some officials have explained Recruitment Activities Broadcast an
that the difficulty of the application and hiring Agency’s Priorities and Values
process was almost considered a feature because it The way in which a department recruits and hires
effectively thinned out all but the most dedicated officers signals to the local community what kinds
applicants. of individuals the department wants and what skills
Clearly, today’s hiring conditions are very it considers valuable. Things such as job postings
different, and many of the older approaches to and community engagement give the community
applications and hiring are no longer viable. direct insights into how the department sees its offi-
Further, some agencies have realized that the filter- cers and what it expects of them. Everything from
ing “feature” of their earlier application and hiring the application experience to the organization of
processes, as well as their relatively limited recruit- academy cohorts and even mentoring is a transpar-
ing efforts, excluded or discouraged many qualified ent indication of a department’s values.
applicants.
Before, we had an abundance of applicants and were able to be very, very selective. . . . A lot of
applicants met the standards, but we were able to pick the top of the top. We’re still picking and
choosing the best we have, but the numbers from which we choose have dwindled.
Sergeant Robby Jones, Mesa (AZ) Police Department
Police Executive Research Forum Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring — 19

Countering Negative Portrayals of Police “You have to convince them to transition
from ‘Why would I ever be a police officer?’
Shaping community perceptions of the department to ‘Why wouldn’t I be a police officer?’ For
is critical to attracting and retaining qualified staff. people who truly love their community and
On a daily basis, these perceptions are already being truly want to serve, this is one of the highest
formed by others. Given the negative framing of ways to do so. That is probably the biggest
many national stories regarding police in the past challenge: transitioning from why to why not.”
several years, it is important for a department to
distinguish its culture, activities, and officers from Recruitment campaigns that present the agency
that national narrative. Recruiting can be a powerful as carrying out SWAT-style operations could
tool to accomplish this. reinforce negative perceptions of police. But cam-
Yasmine Bryant, a participant in PERF’s HBCU paigns that focus on service-oriented roles and
internship program (see sidebar, “PERF and Police de-escalation could have a positive impact on com-
Departments Partner With HBCUs for Intern- munity perceptions of the agency. They also send
ships”) discussed the challenge of overcoming an important message to officers in the department
preexisting local perceptions of police: by demonstrating the department’s commitment to
those values.
“What we think is preventing young people
from wanting to become a police officer is
what they see in the media, but that’s not Attracting a Broader Range
necessarily true. Even before George Floyd, of Candidates
Breonna Taylor, and so on . . . those were not Rather than simply trying to update their existing
the first names that we knew of, and especially recruitment processes to attract a greater number of
not for minorities. They learned from their traditional recruits, the agencies reporting the most
mothers or their fathers, their grandparents promising results are focusing on attracting a wider
or great grandparents, who lived through the variety of potential new officers. Senior Officer
crack epidemic, who lived through the ‘60s, Terry Cherry of the Charleston (SC) Police Depart-
who lived through slavery. They have all been ment explained the issue this way:
told by their family members not to go into
this profession because of their lived experi- “We can’t keep fighting over the same pools
ences. When people have trauma that has of people and trying to fit people who are
been passed down, they’re already being told different into the same old policing models.”
not to go into this profession. . . .
[When] you reach the point where you have market saturation,
you find a new market. So we’ve got to expand the types of
people who are interested in policing, who have previously not
been necessarily interested in policing.
Bureau of Justice Assistance Director Karhlton Moore
20 — Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring Police Executive Research Forum

Improving Racial and Gender Diversity
Can Benefit Officers, Agencies, and Communities
Police departments with greater diversity in areas
such as race/ethnicity and gender have more ways
to connect with the community they serve.18 This
can improve local perceptions of the agency and
its officers and build public trust, which can help
the agency improve its operations.19
How can agencies recruit

more officers of color?
Research shows that a strong predictor of whether
an agency can recruit applicants of color is the
share of its current officers who are people of
color.20 An agency that is racially diverse projects
an image that it values diversity and is open to
receiving more applicants of color in the future.
Thus, an agency’s initial successes in improving
Members of the Newport News (VA) Police
diversity would likely benefit subsequent
Department Recruitment Division and several
recruitment efforts. officers who served in the armed forces hold a
It is important to note that Millennials and resource fair for veterans.
Generation Z, regardless of race, are attracted
to working at racially diverse organizations. (See
sidebar, “Understanding Younger Workers’ Values,
Priorities, and Expectations.”)
Also, survey data show that minority officers’ reasons for joining policing often include
fulfilling a childhood dream, transitioning out of military service, and making a difference in the
community.21 Agencies can incorporate these messages in their recruitment and promotional
materials to better attract Black and Hispanic applicants.
In addition, research shows that candidates of color are more likely to be disqualified
during the initial examination stage.22 As discussed in this report, agencies can thoughtfully
remove barriers to entry and thereby keep a more racially diverse group of candidates in the
process.
18. Brianna Flavin, “Police Officers Explain Why Diversity in Law Enforcement Matters,” Rasmussen University
Justice Studies Blog, December 10, 2018, https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/justice-studies/blog/
diversity-in-law-enforcement/.
19. Richard H. Donohue, Jr., “Shades of blue: A review of the hiring, recruitment, and selection of female and minority
police officers,” Social Science Journal, Vol. 58, No. 4, 2021, pp. 484-498.
20. Jeffrey Nowacki, Joseph A. Schafer, and Julie Hibdon, “Workforce diversity in police hiring: The influence of
organizational characteristics,” Justice Evaluation Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2021, pp. 48-67.
21. Jennifer C. Gibbs, “Diversifying the police applicant pool: Motivations of women and minority candidates seeking
police employment,” Criminal Justice Studies, Vol. 32, No. 3, 2019, pp. 207-221.
22. Richard H. Donohue, Jr.

How can agencies retain more officers of color?

It is crucial to address agency culture to ensure that the environment is inclusive and welcoming.
Among other steps, agencies can conduct internal climate assessments and ensure that leadership
and officers are properly trained on
diversity, equity, and inclusion.23
In a 2017 survey asking officers
of color why they stay on the job, a
key factor they cited is the presence
of a mentorship program within the
agency.24 These programs give newer
officers a valuable window into potential
advancement opportunities in the
agency; officers of color often cite a lack
of those opportunities as a reason they
leave an agency. They also noted that
mentorship programs help engender a
sense of belonging within the agency.
Officers of color want to feel heard as Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and Mayor
well as seen. Brandon M. Scott welcome the trainees of academy class
23-01 to the Baltimore Police Department.
Community support is also
important.25 Black officers note
that animosity within their own
community toward policing can make being an officer difficult. Some community members
see Black individuals who become police officers as having gone to “the other side” and no
longer belonging to the Black community. Conversely, Hispanic officers often find that they are
encouraged by their community. Just as improving agency diversity can strengthen community
support, improved community support can help an agency remain diverse.
How can agencies recruit and retain more women officers?

Women are seriously underrepresented in policing, making up only around 13 percent of full-time
sworn officers in local police agencies and 7 percent of sworn state troopers.26 Agencies can take
a number of steps to improve their gender diversity, including in their senior ranks, as discussed
in PERF’s 2023 report “Women in Police Leadership: 10 Action Items for Advancing Women and
Strengthening Policing.” 27
23. Charles Russo and Thomas Rzemyk, “Finding Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity in Policing,” Police Chief Online,
August 4, 2021, https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/finding-equity-inclusion-and-diversity-in-policing/.
24. Gabriele Suboch, Colleen Harrington, and John House. “Why Do Female and Minority Police Officers Remain in
Law Enforcement?” Race, Gender & Class, Vol. 24, No. 3–4, 2017, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26529225.
25. Ibid.
26. Federal Bureau of Investigation, “2019 Crime in the United States,” Table 74, https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-
the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-74; Lindsey Van Ness, “Percentage of Women in
State Policing Has Stalled Since 2000,” Pew Charitable Trusts, October 20, 2021, https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/
research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/10/20/percentage-of-women-in-state-policing-has-stalled-since-2000.
27. The report is available at https://www.policeforum.org/assets/WomenPoliceLeadership.pdf.

Research suggests that agencies with greater gender diversity have increased engagement with
the community, less use of force, and fewer citizen complaints. A 2017 study, for example, found that
increased gender diversity is a strong predictor of community policing activities.28
Research also shows that community members served by a police force with greater gender
diversity are more likely to report cases dealing with sexual violence, and those cases are more
likely to be cleared by the police agency.29 Female officers are less likely to use force than their male
counterparts.30 They also receive fewer citizen complaints. If they do
receive a complaint, they are less likely to receive another complaint
than their male colleagues.31
A number of barriers prevent more women from joining policing,
according to PERF’s report, which was based on the results of a
national survey, focus groups, and a literature review. For example,
many agencies still rely on outdated recruitment videos designed to
sell excitement (such as officers breaking down doors) rather than the
service activities that more realistically portray the daily reality of the
job, such as conducting welfare checks.
Also, many women drop out of the hiring process during initial
screening and training. Some psychological examinations have not
been substantially updated since the 1950s. Additionally, many
women cannot meet existing state- or agency-mandated physical
standards, which are not always validated as work-related and in
compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
requirements.
PERF’s report also identified several factors that prevent women from advancing in their careers
once hired. These include agency cultural issues, such as a “good ol’ boys club” mentality favoring
men in assignments and promotions. A lack of women mentors also prevents many women from
advancing, as does a lack of family-friendly policies in areas such as childcare, pregnancy, and
parental leave.
The PERF report lists ten action items for agencies to encourage more women to enter policing
and enable them to rise to leadership positions.
1. Agencies should foster a culture in which all women feel included, valued, respected, and equal.
2. Agencies should make it a priority to hire more women at the recruit level. Among other
things, they can sign the 30x30 Pledge, in which they commit to take steps to increase the
representation of women in all ranks.
28. Amie M. Schuck, “Female Officers and Community Policing: Examining the Connection between Gender Diversity
and Organizational Change,” Women & Criminal Justice, Vol. 27, No. 5, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.201
7.1303659.
29. Amie M. Schuck, “Women in Policing and the Response to Rape: Representative Bureaucracy and
Organizational Change,” Feminist Criminology, Vol. 13, No. 3, July 2018, https://journals.sagepub.com/
doi/10.1177/1557085117753668.
30. Kimberly A. Lonsway, Michelle Wood, and Katherine Spillar, “Men, Women, and Police Excessive Force: A Tale of
Two Genders,” National Center for Women and Policing, April 2002, https://docplayer.net/21382159-Men-women-
and-police-excessiveforce-a-tale-of-two-genders.html.
31. Kim Michelle Lersch and Tom Mieczkowski, “Who are the problem-prone officers? An analysis of citizen
complaints,” American Journal of Police, Vol. XV, No. 3, 1996, https://doi.org/10.1108/07358549610129613.

3. Agencies should ensure that women are not being unfairly excluded from the hiring and training
process, especially with respect to physical fitness standards.
4. Agencies should create or expand family-friendly policies and resources that support women
(and men) in balancing the demands of the job and the needs of their families.
5. Agencies should provide women members with equal opportunities to the full range of
assignments, including in specialized units.
6. Agencies should ensure their promotional processes are transparent, equitable, and free of any
biases that may have an adverse impact on women.
7. Agencies should provide women members with equal opportunities to attend training and other
development activities throughout their careers.
8. Agencies should create or expand mentoring and career development programs geared toward
women.
9. Efforts to develop and promote women should not be restricted to the sworn ranks only.
Agencies need to make a concerted effort to hire, promote, and provide opportunities to
women members of their professional staffs.
10. Agencies should collect and analyze data on women members in their department to identify
possible disparities, obstacles to advancement, and strategies for improvement.
continued from page 20 Recruitment and Training Coordinator Nisse Lee

Ramser of the Greenwood Village (CO) Police
Seeking a Diversity of People and Views Department explained:
Expanding the pool of potential officers not only “Police work was very different in the ‘90s
aids an agency’s recruitment efforts, but also than it needs to be today. So number one,
serves the larger goal of staffing the agency with a I’m looking for people who approach the job
more diverse group of officers. A consistent theme from a standpoint of compassion . . . [and]
throughout PERF’s data collection for this report has kindness. The kind of person that’s always
been that successful recruiting and retention both looking to learn the next thing and improve
demand that agencies embrace a diversity of people and hone their craft. The job is constantly
and views. Agencies recognize the value of officers changing because we serve people, and people
who are community-service oriented, empathetic, are constantly changing, culture is constantly
and strong communicators. Agencies also recognize changing.”
the value of having a diversity of races, ethnicities,
This shift also aligns with the change in values
and genders that mirrors the community they serve.
as new generations of young people — Millennials
This is a shift for many police agencies, to and Generation Z — constitute a growing part
attract and retain officers who may be different of the workforce and look for a profession with a
from themselves and possibly from the agency’s purpose, an organization with a good reputation,
current culture. But it aligns with changing public and diversity among their peers. (See sidebar,
expectations for policing, which increasingly focus “Understanding Younger Workers’ Values, Priorities,
on collaboration and community problem-solving. and Expectations.”) These new generations also

We have been incorporating, to a greater degree, people in our recruiting efforts who look like the
people we are trying to attract.
Deputy Chief Michael Caprez, City of Akron (OH) Police Department
place a high value on wellness and work-life balance, pressure with a customer service focus.
so the strategies in these areas that agencies adopt to Those skills are incredibly transferable to
improve officer retention (see Section 3 below) will dispatch and police work. I tell them, if
also help them recruit younger workers. you’re looking for a career change, here’s
what we have to offer. . . . So a lot of what
Adopting New Recruiters we do as far as getting our message out
and Recruiting Techniques about who we are is literally me talking to
people about who we are.”
To reach and incorporate these new pools of
potential candidates, agencies are changing both
their recruiters and their recruiting techniques. Revisiting Hiring Standards
For example, Captain Terrence Dunbar explained Since agencies traditionally had many more
that the Newport News (VA) Police Department is applicants than openings, they were free to make
increasing its diversity in part by seeking bilingual their hiring standards more and more restric-
officers: tive over time, further narrowing the profiles of
“Our initiatives are to increase the number candidates making it through the process. The
of minorities within the department. We current staffing crisis has led many agencies to
are recruiting bilingual officers, and we’re revisit those standards. Some candidates who are
doing a great job at that; we’re averaging qualified and good fits for the needs of modern
about 25 percent Spanish-speaking in each policing might not meet the traditional profile
of our academy classes and a recent class of an officer and might previously have been
had almost 50 percent. Because we are screened out through agencies’ hiring standards.
recruiting for minorities, our classes are Successful agencies are carefully considering
diverse. Our ultimate goal is for the agency whether their standards match the actual capa-
to resemble what the city looks like.” bilities needed for the job.
His department is also one of many that

have joined the national 30x30 Initiative, which
is working to increase the share of women in the
ranks to 30 percent by 2030.32
Agencies also are being inventive in how they
look for the types of people they want to attract.
Greenwood Village’s Nisse Lee Ramser gave one
example:
“I go to bartenders and Starbucks baristas

. . . because they can multitask under
32. 30x30 Initiative, https://30x30initiative.org/.

We place a strong emphasis on personalizing our recruitment and hiring program to meet the needs of
the agency and the applicant. We often connect directly with applicants via email and phone, and we
frequently invite them to the station for a personal meeting to explain our agency and the community
we serve. Interested applicants can even participate in a ride-along with one of our officers.
Chief Joseph Hoebeke, Hollis (NH) Police Department
Helping Disadvantaged Candidates “Since we’re able to cast a much, much

Meet Agency Standards wider net, we’re able to get a much more
diverse hiring pool. And then from that pool
Agencies also are helping candidates meet their we hire the most qualified people.”
modernized standards through fitness training,
mentoring programs, and academy prepara- Strategically and thoughtfully removing
tion programs. Most attendees at PERF’s national barriers in the eligibility criteria and hiring
conference agreed that this assistance doesn’t process to better identify the types of officers that
constitute “coddling.” Rather, it recognizes that not agencies need today can help address staffing
all candidates have had the same opportunities for needs while also improving diversity.
mentorship to know what is expected of them in the
Agencies stressed to PERF that in changing
recruitment process or to meet these standards at
their eligibility criteria to “widen the net” of
the start of the process.
potential officers, they are seeking to attract the
Recruitment and Training Coordinator Nisse highest-quality candidates from a larger and more
Lee Ramser of the Greenwood Village (CO) Police diverse population, rather than weakening their
Department detailed her agency’s approach: standards to accept a lower-quality version of the
traditional officer.
“I’m trying to make our hiring process more
accessible to the populations that historically As discussed above, agencies are increasingly
have not been well represented, mentored, or seeking individuals who come from a variety of
coached in law enforcement. . . . backgrounds, represent a range of ethnicities,
races, and languages, have empathy and
“If we have someone and maybe their
communication skills, and value a job with
answers aren’t as clear and polished as this
purpose. To reach this wider range of potential
other person, maybe they just haven’t had
candidates, agencies have reevaluated standards
a mentor to coach them on what they need
in areas such as education, physical ability, and
to answer. But we look at the meat of their
personal appearance.
answers. Are they coming at this from a place
of compassion? Do they seem like they want
to get the job for the right reasons? . . .
We historically preferred BAs or higher, but over the past four years we have hired a greater number of
[people with] associate’s degrees and military [service] in lieu of a degree.
Chief Jon Murad, Burlington (VT) Police Department

Figure 7: Agencies’ Educational Requirements
2018 Questionnaire 2022 Questionnaire
2%
No Minimum Requirement
2%
High School Diploma or Equivalent 71%

(e.g., GED) 72%
7%
Some College but No Degree
9%
Associate’s Degree or Equivalent 16%

(e.g., 60 College Credits) 15%
4%
Bachelor’s Degree
2%
Percentage of Agencies with Minimum Educational Requirements

Note: N=230 for 2022 questionnaire (nine agencies were not included in this analysis because they responded “Other”) and 386
for the 2018 questionnaire (26 agencies were not included because they responded “Other”).
Source: PERF Member Questionnaire on Recruitment and Retention
Education, Life Experience, and Age Senior Deputy Mayor Monisha Harrell of Seattle
(WA) noted, a college degree is not a replacement
Agencies are reconsidering how they view formal for age in developing maturity.
education, life experience, and age as predictors of a
candidate’s success. “The human brain doesn’t stop developing
until you’re 25 years old. So . . . there might
Roughly 7 in 10 agencies require recruits to
be people who are 21, 22, 23 years old, . . .
have at least a high school diploma and 1 in 4 agen-
[and] we say, go back and get more education,
cies require at least some college, according to a
but there could be other ways to reach those
2022 PERF questionnaire — findings comparable
people . . . because brain science is a reason
to PERF’s 2018 survey. (See Figure 7.) However,
that some of these people might not be as
participants in PERF’s national conference shared
ready as others.”
that life experience and other qualities are just as
important as education in making a quality officer.
Agencies can have the best of both worlds by
Sergeant Anthony Gibson of the Charleston (SC)
selecting applicants who are mature and helping
Police Department, for example, spoke of the need
them further their education by offering a college
to “define diversity beyond mere optics, including
tuition reimbursement. Seventy-one percent of
but not limited to diversity of thought, education,
agencies offer a college tuition reimbursement as
background, life experience, job history, socio-
part of a recruiting bonus, but only 39 percent of
economic status, and trade skillsets.”
agencies provide a pay increase or bonus to current
Some of that discussion focused on the impor- officers for a college degree. Chief Yolanda Talley of
tance of age as an indicator of the maturity and the Chicago (IL) Police Department shared:
decision-making skills required of an officer. As

We used to require a mile-and-a-half run to test for cardio endurance. We now do a half-mile run. One
of the biggest reasons is that if you ask any cop when they last had a mile-and-a-half foot chase, they’re
going to have a hard time thinking of one. It just doesn’t happen. But we didn’t change the pace of the
run so it’s technically the same standard, just shortened.
Sergeant Michael Cheek, Dunwoody (GA) Police Department
“This is an issue that we’ve discussed for a

very long time. I have 28 years in the Chicago
Police Department. When I first came to the
department, only a high school diploma was
required. I had a college education at the
time, but I must say the best police officers
that I knew then and I know today came to
the job with a high school diploma.
“The Chicago Police Department has a
tuition reimbursement program that cov-
ers 100 percent. I’m a big advocate of having
people that are age 25 to 27, with high school
of physical abilities that must be demonstrated, or in
diplomas, coming to this job, because once
some cases begun relying on a medical examination
you come on this job we’re going to pay for
to provide an indication of health instead of con-
your education. And you cannot be pro-
ducting a physical abilities test.
moted to a sergeant until you have a four-year
degree. . . . “Our physical assessment for new hires has
moved away from a traditional obstacle course
“We all know that everyone’s path is not and towards a rowing test that is more equitable in
the same. Some people graduate high school determining a prospective applicant’s job readiness,”
and they have to go to work—for family according to Sergeant John Ramirez of the Abilene
reasons, for all types of reasons. . . . Let’s (TX) Police Department. “Further, these testing
take a look at these people with high school standards can be shared with applicants in advance
diplomas that have been in the workforce and prepared for at their local gym.”
and are 25 to 27 years of age. . . . Just because
you have an education doesn’t mean you’re Chief Deputy Mike Lee of the Harris County
going to be a better candidate for the police (TX) Sheriff ’s Office reported that they “changed
department.” the PT [physical training] test to an obstacle course
and moved away from the standard PT test consist-
ing of push-ups, sit-ups, and 1.5-mile run, which we
Physical Ability Testing found was resulting in very high failure rates among
female applicants. Historically, over 70 percent of
One of the biggest changes that many agencies our female applicants did not pass our PT test.”
have made in their applicant screening and eligibil-
ity criteria has been to revise their physical ability Many agencies concluded that their prior
testing to better match the actual physical fitness approaches to assessing physical abilities were not
requirements of the job. Agencies have reduced the a reliable indicator of a candidate’s potential to be
difficulty of certain required feats, changed the types a good police officer. Imposing these antiquated
requirements also eliminated many highly qualified

and promising candidates — women in particular.
PERF’s recent report on expanding women in police
leadership found that many female applicants do not
last beyond the screening process, in part because
tests and screening have been based on male norms.
(See sidebar, “Improving Racial and Gender Diversity
Can Benefit Officers, Agencies, and Communities.”)
Chief Marcus Jones explained that the Mont-
gomery County (MD) Police Department has
eliminated the physical fitness test altogether:
“[We] got rid of the physical fitness test for

candidates. What we do with great success is
engage our applicants during the background
process, which can be a bit lengthy. We invite
them to our academy, we have weekly Zoom
meetings with those folks, and we have work- Prior substance use, especially regarding
out sessions on the weekend. We invite them marijuana, has been an increasing area of recon-
to work out so they get to experience the rig- sideration as more states either decriminalize it
ors of the police academy well before they’re or legalize its use. “Prior drug use is no longer an
even hired. Then we have a medical examina- automatic disqualifier given all of the recent changes
tion to make sure they’re fit for duty. in law, specifically surrounding marijuana,” accord-
ing to Lieutenant James Gordon of the Virginia
“The last academy class we put in had a Beach (VA) Police Department. And Commander
1:1 ratio of women to men. That was the first Ron Leonard of the Jefferson County (CO) Sheriff ’s
academy class [where] we fully suspended the Office reported, “With the legalization of marijuana
physical [fitness test], and I’ll be interested in 2014, many applicants have no idea about the
moving forward to see what our data looks concerns of marijuana use. Marijuana use (prior to
like to see the impact, but it certainly appears hiring) is framed like alcohol use.”
promising.”
Major Greg Fried explained how the Fairfax
County (VA) Police Department revisited its hiring
By changing or eliminating the physical abili-
rules regarding past marijuana use:
ties test as an eligibility requirement, an agency can
increase both the number of candidates who qualify “We ensured that our process and selection
and the organization’s female representation. criteria were modernized. Previous drug use
is about duration and frequency, as well as the
Substance Use History and amount of time that has elapsed since prior
Other Eligibility Criteria use. We look at that individually and take a
holistic view of each applicant. What else is in
Departments have evaluated and modified many their background? What if any crimes were
other longstanding eligibility criteria and screening committed? . . . Again, time that has elapsed
tools, such as standards for personal appearance and that it was not something they’ve con-
and tattoos, substance use, and screening tools that
tinuously repeated is important.
capture other factors, such as psychological factors.
The specific changes vary widely across agencies; the “People do make mistakes in life, and
following are a few of the highlights PERF learned we need to realize that, and they can grow
in our work. In many cases, the agencies suggested and mature from experience. Frankly, we
that the changes they have made reflect changes in have found that people with a little bit of
society in general. >> continued on page 32

Prince William County Improved Diversity
by Updating Recruiting and Hiring Practices
In 2020 the Prince William County (VA) Police Department contracted PERF to review its recruiting
and hiring practices and identify potential improvements, particularly changes that could help the
department diversify its applicant pool. PERF’s report, published in 2021, recommended changes
to the personnel bureau staffing and manual, the hiring process, and recruitment efforts.33 Chief
Peter Newsham and Captain Dave Smith discussed the study at PERF’s November 2022 national
conference on police recruitment and retention. Chief Newsham said:
“When I started in Prince William [in February 2021], we were not a diverse police department.
We’re the tenth most diverse county in the country. So one of my mandates as the new chief
of police was to improve diversity. Of course, we’re suffering from the same challenges that
everyone else is — getting people to apply and getting people hired.”
Prince William County

Police Chief Peter
Newsham (FAR LEFT) and
Prince William County
Police Captain Dave
Smith (LEFT)
Captain Smith, who led the implementation of PERF’s recommendations, gave an overview
of those changes:“We contracted PERF in 2020, and they spent a year taking a close look at our
recruiting and hiring practices, to figure out what was keeping us from hiring officers who mirrored
the demographics of our community.
Eligibility and Hiring Guidelines

We looked at our eligibility guidelines, and we identified a couple things that had an effect.
One was applicants’ financial histories. Prior to the study, when an applicant had a lot of
debt, we told them to take care of it and come back later, regardless of what that debt was or
whether there was a payment plan in place. Now, if we see student loans or medical bills and
they have a payment plan in place and are showing financial responsibility by chipping away at
that debt, then they can move forward in the hiring process.
There was also some ambiguity in some of the hiring guidelines, so background
investigators had varied interpretations of what those guidelines meant. The guidelines
included “crimes that would degrade public confidence” but didn’t define that any further. So
we’ve clarified that it means DUIs, sex crimes, and things of that nature. We brought our drug
standards in line with best practices. A lot of agencies require three years of no drug use, and
we previously required seven years of no drug use, which was impacting the number of people
eligible to apply.
33. Police Executive Research Forum, “Review of the Prince William County, VA Police Department’s Recruitment and
Hiring Practices,” May 2021, https://www.pwcva.gov/assets/2021-07/PWC%20Report%20Final.pdf.

When PERF reached out to
applicants who had dropped out of the
hiring process, many said they didn’t
really know what the standards were,
but they figured they didn’t meet the
standards based on the questions we
were asking. Once we updated our
guidelines, we posted them on our The Prince William County Criminal Justice Academy
website so people will know what we’re Basic Law Enforcement 52nd Session graduating class
looking for. on March 13, 2023
Our personal history statement

was 31 pages, and we were able to pare that down to nine pages. Many questions asked
for information that we would be getting anyway, like their credit history, driving history, and
criminal history. And we removed questions that weren’t relevant to the hiring process, such as
“Have you ever traveled out of the country?” and “Who makes your car payment?” We also
removed questions about whether their family and friends use drugs or have been charged
with a crime, because those aren’t relevant to the applicant.
Applicant Tracking
When PERF came in, we were looking for an online applicant tracking system, because we
were still stuck in 1970. We had paper hiring files and were tracking our data in Excel and
Word documents. It was difficult to sift through all that to find trends and identify disparate
impacts. Since we’ve gone to the eSOPH applicant tracking system, we’ve had an accurate
look at where we’re losing people throughout the hiring process, any trends, and can identify
ways we may be able to improve.
Marketing
We didn’t really have a robust marketing and advertising plan. We started utilizing targeted
ads on Instagram and other social media platforms. We’re geofencing around colleges and
universities, as well as military bases across the country. Our police department was only about
15 percent female, so we’ve developed some hiring events, videos, and online outreach
specifically about women in law enforcement. And we’re being more intentional about our job
fairs to make sure we reach women’s colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and
Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
Implementation
Some of those changes went into effect on a rolling basis as we worked with PERF, but the
bulk of them were put in place by Chief Newsham in March and April of 2021. We’ve seen a 45
percent decrease in applications in fiscal year 2022, compared to fiscal years 2020 and 2021.
But we’re getting many applicants who told us they never even considered this profession.
In the last fiscal year, 34 percent of our applicants were white, while 66 percent were from
underrepresented groups. Prior to last year, more than half our applicants were white. In the
years leading up to the PERF study, about 16 percent of the trainees in our academy were
female, and about 40 percent were from underrepresented groups. Since then, our academy
classes have been 24 percent female and 70 percent from under-represented groups. We’re
trending in the right direction and have seen positive results from the changes we’ve made, but
there’s still a lot of work to be done.

continued from page 29 but also helps educate applicants on why officers
need to understand the concept of unconscious bias.
life experience can be more successful in
getting through our process, the academy, Adopting Innovative
and becoming successful police officers than
Recruiting Strategies
people who haven’t had much life experience.”
Community outreach through social media and
Agencies are also reevaluating certain screening community events can interest local residents in
tools they use to measure other capabilities, such as the field of policing by educating youth on the role
the written exam. Major Casey Cooper of the Law- of police and helping the community see officers
rence (KS) Police Department shared: as approachable and part of the community. Some
people are driven to enter policing, and recruitment
“We have become more subjective with some seeks to pull those driven officers to your agency.
of our process. For example, if we see a failure But recruitment also seeks to attract individuals
on the written test, we don’t automatically who may not have considered policing as a career.
[disqualify] the candidate; we look at their
packet as a whole and determine if the candi-
Social Media Campaigns
date should move on or be moved out of the
to Reach a Younger, More Diverse Audience
process.”
Many police agencies now use social media to
Some departments have added new assessments communicate with younger workers (and potential
to gather better information on a candidate’s poten- recruits). Generation Z, in particular, access news
tial to be a successful modern officer. For example, mainly from social media platforms rather than
Director of Modernization Harry Meek of the Royal newspapers or television, which can affect the way
Canadian Mounted Police explained that his agency the incoming workforce views recent events on
now screens for unconscious biases as part of its policing, protests, violence, and crime.34 Addition-
new three-day assessment centers and up front dur- ally, roughly one-third of Generation Z use social
ing its unsupervised online assessment. The uncon- media as a valuable job-search tool.35
scious bias assessment is already achieving results. Several agencies PERF spoke with said they use
It not only ensures a more rigorous assessment of light-hearted and entertaining TikTok videos, Insta-
candidates’ behavior and attitudes across three days, gram posts, and Facebook pages to attract a younger
On Facebook, you can . . . pick locations that you want to hit heavily
with recruiting information. You can also choose demographics —
people’s background, hobbies, education, etc. — so your dollar
goes further. We advertised in areas in which police officers did not
feel appreciated. We’re looking at education, at people with two-
year degrees. And we’re looking for people that like to lift weights,
anything that we know police officers like to do, with healthy
hobbies to ensure they possess outlets to assist with stress.
Chief Rex Troche, Sarasota (FL) Police Department
34. Rishika Dugyala and Kamran Rahman, “6 things to know about Gen Z, politics and 2020,” Politico, October 11, 2020,
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/11/gen-z-politics-2020-poll-takeaways-426767.
35. Yello, “Introducing the First Graduating Class of Generation Z.”

If we can build community investment or trust, people can realize, “This person is just like me. They just
happen to have this job. Hey, I can have that job too.” So we do coffee with a cop, fro-yo with the 5-0
— community things that are fun and low stress. Most contacts happen roadside on a traffic ticket or
that kind of thing, so we want to show that hey, we’re just like you.
Sergeant Jacques Tregre, Gilbert (AZ) Police Department
audience to the department. For example, Sergeant requirements, and then connect directly to the
Jacques Tregre of the Gilbert (AZ) Police Depart- agency recruiters via text or call to ask questions.
ment reported: Chief Jim Blocker of the Battle Creek (MI) Police
Department explained:
“I want us to be poking fun at ourselves. Just
have a good time with it instead of being “I thought this was so Millennial, and a waste.
so serious because so much of our job is so Who really takes apps and social media seri-
serious. The perception of the career is so ously when looking for work and importantly
serious. If [you were] a fly on the wall of a a career change? Turns out, many people do!
patrol briefing or saw us goofing around the
“In less than 90 days, we had over
office earlier today, people could see we have
95 applicants in the pool, compared to
a good time while we’re here working. It’s not
the 9 applications using our traditional
all serious police officer stuff.”
recruiting methods. Eighteen were hired after
Social media also provides a means to reach a backgrounds and medical and [psychological
more diverse group of residents, Sergeant Tregre evaluations] were completed: 11 white
explained: males, 4 white females, 2 Black females,
and 1 Hispanic male. [They included] 70
“We do live events so we can be really percent with a B.A., one a master’s degree, a
transparent: put me on the spot, ask me a mechanical engineer, and multiple veterans,
question live on Facebook and we come up and all lived within 50 miles of the city.”
with an answer. Just trying to be a bit self-
deprecating. We’re in Arizona, so we have a
large Hispanic population locally. We did an Community Events to Build Trust
entire Facebook Live in Spanish . . . to show and Aid Recruiting
that you shouldn’t set up walls for yourself Agencies PERF spoke to are sending officers to
[between you and joining the police] that a myriad of community events and are organiz-
aren’t there; if English isn’t your first lan- ing their own — career fairs, community fairs,
guage, think about this skill that you bring to church functions, cultural heritage events, pizza
the table.” with police, workout-with-a-hero sessions, citizens’
Specialized features in social media platforms academies — to make their officers more visible and
allow agencies to strategically target potential recruits approachable. This community-oriented approach is
who live in particular areas of the country, have par- part of a long-term strategy to improve the agency’s
ticular backgrounds, or have hobbies that align with identity, which ultimately will benefit recruiting.
typical law enforcement activities and interests. Captain James Hunt of the King City (CA) Police
Department explained:
Several agencies also reported adopting an
application that allows interested candidates to “We do a lot of community outreach and
enter basic information, ensure they meet the community-related events: coffee with the

We are encouraging candidates to tour our new police
headquarters and do a ride-along. While they are here, we do a
recruiting pitch to them about why this is the department they
should join.
Chief Richard Hickey, Brentwood (TN) Police Department
cops, pizza with the police, ice cream with We have increased our social media content,
the cops. So we’re trying on all levels, with all which targets a broad range of the public. In
facets of the community to reach out. And addition, we have diversified our recruitment
we’re increasing our presence in schools. Let efforts to include local community events,
kids get to know us in a different light — kids high school, community college, and four-
who might be interested in a career in law year school career fairs. We also conduct
enforcement.” informational meetings for school clubs and
table-top events on campus. We routinely
Agencies commonly attend traditional recruit- attend military recruitment events at our local
ing events like career fairs, information booths at Marine bases.
high schools and colleges, and military recruitment
“These efforts have resulted in the highest
events. “The job fairs and stuff like that, that’s been
year of overall hiring and number of female
consistent; I don’t think we ever stopped doing that,”
candidates in the process.”
said Captain Nicholas Picerno of the Montgomery
County (MD) Police Department. “I got hired as a
police officer 20 years ago because of a job fair.” One unique take on the career fair approach
comes from the Cedar Rapids (IA) Police Depart-
These events continue to be moderately suc- ment, which attends a career fair for student ath-
cessful in recruiting traditional applicants as well as letes. Several agencies said they target student
some from underrepresented populations, but other athletes for recruitment — particularly female ath-
agencies have found them less successful. According letes, since they would be especially likely to meet
to Chief Billy Grogan of the Dunwoody (GA) Police the agency’s physical standards.
Department:
“We’ve gone to tons of recruitment fairs and

things like that and we just don’t gain a lot of
traction. We went to one last year, … there
were probably eight or nine police depart-
ments there and only about six people came.
So it’s just not as effective.”
Agencies have had more success by combining

traditional, broad-based approaches with newer,
more targeted approaches, especially when work-
ing to attract candidates from underserved com-
munities. According to Lieutenant Ted Lopez of the
Anaheim (CA) Police Department:
“We always strive to recruit quality candidates

by recruiting in an unbiased, diverse method.

Another unique approach is the Gilbert (AZ) achieve their career goals, highlights positive
Police Department’s “workout with a hero” event, engagement opportunities for youth, and
which features a workout that is scalable based on helps MNPD meet its needs for more trained
fitness level to encourage people who are concerned professionals.
about the physical nature of the job or about the
“The initiative encompasses a broad
physical fitness test (including many women) to
range of opportunities for students to explore
work out with the officers and learn how the officers
civilian and commissioned officer careers
improved their own fitness.
at MNPD and to pursue the education and
training they will need to achieve their career
“Going Upstream” choices. We also have internship programs
by Creating Candidate Pipelines with several colleges.”
Programs like police explorers, cadet programs,
Several promising programs also target
and internships are becoming more common as
underserved populations. One example is the
agencies seek to nurture the recruits of the future
pilot program PERF sponsored in conjunction
by identifying youth currently interested in polic-
with the Baltimore City Police Department and
ing or even cultivating an interest in youth to move
Morgan State University (see sidebar, “PERF and
into the field of policing. Some of these programs
Police Departments Partner With HBCUs for
focus on youth as young as middle school; others
Internships”).
are aimed at college students right before they are
recruit-eligible.
These programs not only increase the number
of recruits and improve relationships between youth
and the police, but can help guide at-risk youth into
a stable career path. Deputy Chief Michelle Richter
of the Metro Nashville (TN) Police Department
(MNPD) described the department’s multi-program
Law Enforcement Collaborative initiative:
“MNPD participates in a Youth Citizens

Police Academy and is in the development
stages of a Cadet program. Middle school
students may participate in the Police
Activities League, summer camps, carnivals,
and DARE. For elementary school students,
the program highlights Read Me Days, youth
camps, and other outreach events. The Law
Enforcement Collaborative helps students
I’m a big proponent of our cadet program. Participants are 18-21, they don’t make much and it doesn’t
count toward their pension or years of service, but once they’re 21 they can become recruits and by
that time we know if they’re a good fit. Some don’t become officers, but the ones that do become the
best in the academy.
Lieutenant Mike Cox, Anne Arundel County (MD) Police Department

Assistant Chief Nicholas Augustine of the “The good thing about the program is
Montgomery County (MD) Police Department they’re paid employees, which supplements
provided another example: the cost of college and motivates the cadets
to succeed academically. We are now able to
“[We offer a] two-year program for college mentor potential at-risk cadets away from
students paid as part-time employees. They behaviors that disqualify officer applicants,
work 20 hours a week, assigned to a unit or such as youth drug involvement or criminal
division. It’s kind of like an internship but activity. We get to see their work ethic, and
they’re more involved, to prepare them for if they are a good fit for our department,
a career in law enforcement. They have to we hire them as an officer. Over 50 percent
remain in college and maintain a 2.0 GPA. of them are from diverse communities.
We have many diverse applicants in our cadet Over 75 percent actually become LEOs in
program who then go into the academy. We Montgomery County.”
are pretty much growing our future officers.
PERF and Police Departments Partner

With HBCUs for Internships
In the summer of 2022, PERF and the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) partnered with Morgan
State University and Coppin State University — two historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs) — to pilot an innovative new program. Under the coordination of the BPD Equity Office,
eight students and recent graduates were selected as interns and assigned to various BPD units,
including victim services, evidence management, and recruitment. Participants in the ten-week
program were compensated by the MacKenzie Scott Foundation.
The program’s objectives were to explore the
historical and current relationships between police
officers and community members, study the complex
operational and managerial components of a law
enforcement agency, integrate criminal justice theory
and practice, allow students to work alongside a BPD
mentor to support the internship experience, and
provide insight on and explore potential career paths
in law enforcement. Through its design, the program
examined problems related to crime in Baltimore
while engaging young Black students in a potential
career with a law enforcement agency.
At the end of their internship, each participant
Members of the intern group.
presented detailed recommendations for improving
BPD operations to an audience that included their
colleagues, PERF executives, PERF Board President
and BPD Commissioner Michael Harrison, and the
presidents of both universities. Thus, the interns’ experiences in BPD helped shape not only their
understanding of policing but also BPD’s understanding of itself.
PERF expanded the program in 2023, placing 30 students from 13 HBCUs with 29 law
enforcement agencies across 15 states. Once again the program was a success; several interns
indicated their desire to change career paths and enter the policing profession as a result of their
internship experience.

We went to an electronic statement of personal history for background investigations. . . . When I first
came up here three years ago, we were still working with big old thick files and having to get signatures.
Now everything is online. That has reduced the time it takes to complete a background significantly; it’s
much more efficient for our investigators and just much more efficient all the way around.
Robby Jones, Mesa (AZ) Police Department
A few agencies offer internships to individuals Making the Application Process

transitioning from military service. For example, Faster and Simpler
Captain Michael Manley of the Vermont State
Police shared: Many agencies are examining and revamping every
stage of their hiring process for timeliness and effec-
“We’re setting up an intern program where tiveness. Major Greg Fried of the Fairfax County
soldiers cycling out are told about the Ver- (VA) Police Department shared:
mont State Police. They can do some ride-
alongs and do an internship for 2-3 weeks, so “A lot of our people didn’t realize the urgency
they can get exposed to the agency and still be of modernizing our selection criteria. We
getting paid by the military. We set up hous- had self-created barriers throughout our
ing and hook them up with our special teams, hiring process. So we did a complete evalua-
our investigators, and expose them to every- tion, overhaul, and transformation, from the
thing that we have to offer.” moment somebody applies to their ‘signing
day’ when they’re hired. We modified our
automatic denials, drug use, and driving
Streamlining the Hiring Process infractions, taking a holistic look at each
Once an individual is interested in policing, an applicant.”
agency has to help them get through the hiring
process, which can be arduous. Many agencies lose Accessible application forms. The application
potential candidates due to lengthy application, itself needs to be easy to access and to complete,
selection, and training processes. agencies stressed. It should be available online and
mobile-friendly. Nearly half of Generation Z have
Ease and speed are essential in securing the applied for a job on a mobile device; over half say
best recruits. An application and hiring process that they will not complete a job application if the appli-
takes six to 12 months sends a very different sig- cation methods are outdated; and one-fourth would
nal about the organization’s abilities and priorities be deterred from accepting a job if technology wasn’t
than one that only takes a few weeks. As Chief Karl effectively incorporated into the hiring process.36
Oakman of the Kansas City (KS) Police Depart-
ment lamented, “It takes us longer to investigate a Providing forms in multiple languages makes
recruit than a triple homicide. Why is that? Because them more accessible and signals that an agency
we have these set steps, we have to have so many values diversity. Also, agencies noted they had
people in this pool before we move to the next pool, success with streamlined application systems that
and then the next pool, and you look up and three included only essential questions, omitting any
months have passed.” questions that would be collected at a later stage of
36. Ibid.

hiring. And it is important at the application stage
to provide applicants with information about each
stage of the process and its approximate time so
they have realistic expectations.
Third-party vendors. To speed up the appli-

cation process, some agencies have found success
with specialized software and third-party vendors.
Captain Rocco Domenico of the Colorado State
Police Academy shared one example:
“A third-party vendor does our testing for us.

All of our testing is done electronically. That Cadets at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy
has helped quite a bit because we used to have receive paid training from their first day.
to bring people to centralized locations and
host tests here, which caused some difficulty
for people. I’d bet that difficulty has been
working against our diversity and inclusion Creating One-Stop Assessments
goals of trying to get people to come here.”
A few agencies have adopted the promising prac-
Agencies are also saving time for themselves tice of integrating and streamlining the recruiting
and candidates by working virtually, which gives and hiring processes through assessment centers
candidates more flexibility in meeting the needs of or specialized hiring events. An assessment center
the hiring process, especially for interviews. arranges many of the required tests and screenings
into a single coordinated event. By enabling candi-
Agencies have learned that lengthy delays
dates to complete all their assessments more quickly,
between hiring and the academy can cost them
this reduces the potential for long delays or logisti-
candidates. Thus, many agencies have created
cal challenges, which can frustrate candidates to the
pre-hire programs or internships so their recruits
point where they drop out of the process.
are engaged (and paid) while waiting to begin the
academy. According to Division Chief Chris Juul, RCMP assessment center. For example, the
for example, the Aurora (CO) Police Department Royal Canadian Mounted Police consolidated its
has launched a pre-hire program that pays individu- assessment process into a three-day retreat. As
als on a contract basis to help the department prior Director of Modernization Harry Meek explained:
to the academy so they aren’t hired away.
“We’ve developed three-day assessment
It is also important to move recruits into the
centers. We run them on military bases or a
academy quickly. For example, a department that
police academy so that it mirrors our acad-
begins accepting applications nine months before
emy. Folks sleep in dorms together and get
its next training academy is automatically creat-
used to doing fitness every single day that
ing a long timeline for applicants to move through
they’re there. . . .
the hiring process. To mitigate this challenge, the
Oklahoma City (OK) Police Department has begun “We give them a lot of interaction with
running smaller academies on a regular and more our members because at the end of the
frequent schedule (cohorts of 30-60 people run day, our applicants want to speak to police
every four months), setting up logistics so two stag- officers, they want to be cops, they see our
gered cohorts go through the academy at the same cops as rock stars, and they don’t get a lot of
time. Some smaller agencies have accelerated the opportunity to interact with cops. We make
training phase by arranging to send their recruits to sure that our membership there reflects
a larger department’s academy. the diversity of Canada. And it’s important

that our applicants see themselves in the the importance of recruiting and provide a venue
organization. for current officers to feel part of the recruiting
process, while also raising interest among poten-
“We also have a one-on-one interview
tial applicants.
with them. We’re not going over old
ground; what we’re really asking them
is, why do you want to be a cop? What Keeping Recruits Engaged
do you bring to the table? What are your and Supported
strengths? What do you need to work
In some ways, a law enforcement agency’s recruit-
on and how are you going to work on it?
ment of a potential officer resembles a college
What are some of your unconscious biases
coach’s recruitment of a promising high school
and how are you going to address those?
athlete. For example, regular and transparent com-
We just give them an opportunity to tell
munication is key. Many agencies are working to
their story.
improve in this area, which roughly two-thirds of
“That sort of process is in its early Generation Z and Millennials rank as one of the
days, but it’s really showing great divi- most important components of the candidate expe-
dends. We have psychological assessments rience. As Chief Billy Grogan of the Dunwoody
and security checks afterwards, and from (GA) Police Department shared:
the folks that have gone through that so
far, we’re seeing a really high pass rate.” “We put a lot of emphasis on expediting
the process. When people are interested in
coming to your agency, the last thing they
From application to employment offer.
need is for this to take forever. The other
The Rockville (MD) Police Department and
thing is to make sure that we’re communi-
Baltimore County (MD) Police Department
cating with them, so we text people, letting
combined the assessment center model with
them know where we are in the process. It’s
their recruitment events to create opportunities
a lot more work . . . but it pays off. I’ve had
for community members to go from completing
multiple times where somebody applied at
an application to receiving a conditional offer of
our department and another department
employment in the same day. Chief Victor Brito
and [then chose] Dunwoody. I asked [one
of the Rockville Police Department described the
person], what made you pick Dunwoody?
event:
He said, ‘Because you guys made me feel like
“We had a hiring event where we did a you wanted me.’”
written exam, fitness exam, and back-
ground interviews all at the same event. It In the academy. Encouraging people to feel
was wildly successful. We accelerated the that they are a valued team member is also impor-
process without cutting any corners. At tant to retaining potential officers while they are in
the end of the day, I made 17 conditional the academy and as they transition into being an
offers. We did a lot of pre-screening; we officer, agencies reported.
did a lot of background work; we inter- For instance, the Oklahoma City (OK) Police
viewed all of our candidates; we did our Department emphasizes teamwork and group
written test; we did our physical fitness cohesion to help candidates learn from one
test. We did it all at one time. We made another, as well as a tactic for getting more candi-
conditional offers to ten lateral officers and dates to successfully complete the academy. Giving
seven entry-level officers.” the entire cohort the responsibility for each can-
didate completing the academy has significantly
Some agencies have organized these events
increased the graduation rate.
as festivals to engage with the community about

Upon graduation. An agency also should dem-
onstrate to newly graduating recruits that it honors
and values their commitment, as Baltimore Police
Department intern Yasmine Bryant explained at
PERF’s national conference:
“Someone said earlier that when you swear

in officers, you treat it like it’s a signing day
[for athletes]. It is very important to welcome
them with a very high honor. There is no
higher love and higher service than to be will-
ing to lay down your life for another person
and for your community. . . . It’s very impor- Baltimore Police Department intern Yasmine Bryant
tant to treat it as such for people [becoming] a
police officer.”
don’t create a culture and a climate and an
After graduation. Field training and the initial ethos that welcomes and sustains the presence
probationary employment period is another critical of everyone.”
checkpoint for making certain a candidate shows
the aptitude, ability, and personality to succeed in
the profession and in the agency. Mentorship is Adopting a Holistic Approach
essential during this period, especially for officers to Recruiting and Hiring
whose family or community might not support While a great many agencies have revamped indi-
their decision to join policing. vidual recruiting and hiring processes or adopted
The Houston (TX) Police Department, for new strategies (such as those discussed above) to
example, has a mentorship program through which accompany traditional strategies from the past,
current officers recruit and mentor cadets through a few agencies have gone further, taking a holis-
their academy and probationary time; participat- tic approach that addresses their overall process.
ing cadets are eligible for cash incentives. And the Major Greg Fried of the Fairfax County (VA) Police
Staunton (VA) Police Department has started a Department shared:
mentorship program that pairs veterans with new
“Instead of saying, ‘Just get people hired,’ we
officers starting from their date of hire.
. . . involved the entire division in the conver-
sation, which created greater understanding,
Mentoring and Providing agreement, and buy-in to support our vision
Pathways for Success of transforming our recruiting and retention
Deputy Commissioner Sheree Briscoe of the Bal- efforts. It was an investment, but having the
timore (MD) Police Department emphasized the entire team moving in the same direction,
need for cultural changes within departments to with many ideas coming from them, signifi-
enable officers from underrepresented groups to cantly lowered any unnecessary roadblocks
succeed: or barriers. Everyone has a shared vision
and understanding, which is critical to our
“If we’re being honest, for people who look success.
like me [a Black woman], gender and race
“We increased our focus on lateral (expe-
were never officially welcomed. Now we’re
rienced) officer transfers. . . . We now accept
having conversations about how to open the
out-of-state and federal lateral transfers
doors and welcome everyone, but that won’t
to attend a modified training academy, . . .
happen if we don’t change internally, . . . if we

without having to complete the full basic six- website, a new advertising strategy (to include
month officer training for new officers. We social media), and other marketing materi-
signed the 30x30 pledge to increase the rep- als. We implemented an Applicant Tracking
resentation of women in police recruit classes System for improved accountability between
to 30 percent by 2030 and ensure policies and recruiters and candidates, from initial inter-
culture support women officers throughout est through the successful submission of an
their career. . . . applicant questionnaire.
“To increase military recruiting, we “To increase applications and appli-
participate in the Department of Defense cant interest, we began offering conditional
SkillBridge internship program, which allows offers of employment to qualified candidates
military service members to use the last 180 at recruiting events. (Applicants are still
days of their service to train in a new field required to complete all stages of the hiring
while still retaining military compensation process successfully.) We also began hosting
and benefits. We enhanced the Recruitment hiring expos — opportunities for applicants
Incentive Program, which provides hiring to practice the physical abilities test and get a
incentives up to $15,000 to new officers. . . . sneak peek into the training academy.
“We submitted a budget request to turn “We have created a pre-academy hiring
the Cadet Program (which is part-time) for program that builds camaraderie, resilience,
18- to 20-year-old employees into the Police and confidence through a structured program
Apprenticeship Program (which is full-time), and team building. The recruits know each
developing each apprentice through increas- other when they begin that journey together.
ing responsibilities until they are eligible for We dedicated personnel to an intentional
the training academy. focus on retention. It’s so important that
once we get new officers in the door, we must
“We launched a new digital media
invest in them throughout their career.”
campaign, including an updated recruiting
As many folks have said, the process is intimidating. It wasn’t

intimidating for me; I was fourth generation and I got hired in
three days because my dad was a cop. But not everyone has
that luxury. So, to have an official mentor that stays with you
not only during your application process but during your time
in the police academy and then beyond is a good thing for our
profession. And it’s a good way to keep folks.
Chief Kevin Davis, Fairfax County (VA) Police Department

Section 3: Officer Retention
While each agency has its own set of issues is a place where officers want to work — a place
affecting officers’ decisions about remaining in the where they spend their careers, where they can grow
department, Captain Colin King’s explanation of the and thrive, and where they can earn respect and
retention challenges facing the Tucson (AZ) Police honor. As Chief Joseph Hoebeke of the Hollis (NH)
Department covers many commonly cited issues: Police Department explained, the combination of a
positive work environment and positive community
“Planned retirements have been a factor. relations has made the department more successful
Other reasons for the reduction in staffing at retaining officers and more competitive for
include resignations for other careers outside recruiting candidates:
of public safety. Some reasons given include
compensation, perceived lack of support from “We have been successful in retaining
the community and from elected officials, employees as we place an emphasis on orga-
and the perceived increase in danger while nizational culture, wellness, and work-life
policing. Some feedback identifies the loss balance. In Hollis, we enjoy a strong relation-
of nobility and respect in policing, especially ship with the community and high level of
as it is presented in media and other similar support. On a number of occasions, we have
sources. Finally, pension changes make it found that applicants have only applied to
harder for our younger employees to envision our agency, which is an indication that we
staying with the agency until retirement when are doing something right. I think we offer
that can be 30-plus years into the future.” stability, in terms of community support,
a solid work-life balance, a strong culture,
Most successful agencies have found that comparable wages, and a progressive policing
retaining officers requires ensuring the department mindset.”
We are a smaller agency, 46 sworn, which affords us a family environment. I know every officer by name
and generally know what’s going on of significance at home with each. I have worked at a much larger
agency and constantly tout the wonderful family feel that we share. We also get a ton of support from
our local community. We are the recipient of food and treats on a weekly basis. Our local community
certainly adores their officers.
Chief Sean Dunn, Williamsburg (VA) Police Department
42 — Section 3: Officer Retention Police Executive Research Forum

“Taking the Temperature” of Officers
To understand why their officers are leaving, most agencies already conduct exit interviews. As
Sheriff Timothy Leslie from the Dakota County (MN) Sheriff’s Office explained:
“Our exit interview process is our gauge as they walk out the door. Were we successful in
creating that culture for you, or are you leaving because we weren’t successful? Those are
good opportunities for us to look in the mirror, have administrative meetings, and discuss
where we failed with this human being. Did they not feel a part of the organization? Did they
not feel valued? Did they not have input?”
But, as Sergeant Anthony Gibson of the Charleston (SC) Police Department pointed out, exit
interviews are not enough to understand what officers are experiencing, why some officers are
leaving, and the needs of those officers still in the agency.
“Exit interviews are too late. They are good to gauge attitudes of departing employees
and/or to identify immediate problems to be addressed but they do not lend to sustained
organizational change. Officer check-ins are essential to assessing the trends and temperature,
if you will, of your officers.”
Most agencies (59 percent of respondents to PERF’s survey) reported that they measure
employee satisfaction, but many agencies also have adopted further strategies to better understand
their specific retention issues. For example, the Hyattsville (MD) Police Department conducts an
agency-wide anonymous survey of sworn and professional staff. Similarly, the Charleston (SC) Police
Department conducts a “stay engaged” survey.
By creating or strengthening programs and police-involved shootings, have added to the already
policies that address officers’ stake in the depart- high stress levels under which police officers work.
ment, their values and expectations for the job, their This stress can lead to burnout and cause officers
health and wellness, and the department’s commit- to leave the profession; it also can result in physical
ment to its values, agencies can help build a more and mental health problems and even suicide.37
positive culture within the organization. The staffing crisis has increased the pressure on
agencies to prioritize mental health — both to help
Addressing Long-Standing Issues their current officers and to make the agency more
With Officer Well-Being attractive to new recruits who do not want to expe-
rience these same struggles. As Sheriff Tim Leslie of
The policing profession has long struggled with
the Dakota County (MN) Sheriff ’s Office shared:
significant wellness issues, including higher rates
of suicide, depression, social isolation, substance “I think [the stress of policing] has gotten
use disorder, divorce, and post-traumatic stress worse. . . . [I]n my day, we had another
disorder. The events of the past few years, includ- cocktail or you talked about it a little bit,
ing the pandemic and the public fallout from but you really kind of were encouraged to
37. Bureau of Justice Assistance, “Officer Suicide: Understanding the Challenges and Developing a Plan of Action,” July 2020,
https://bja.ojp.gov/library/publications/officer-suicide-understanding-challenges-and-developing-plan-action.
Police Executive Research Forum Section 3: Officer Retention — 43

Many officers don’t like the traditional employee assistance
program because they deal with a lot of folks that don’t truly
understand what our officers deal with. Our department
psychologist was an officer for over 20 years and understands
what our officers do.
Chief Ryan Zuidema, Lynchburg (VA) Police Department
suppress it. I think we’ve moved past that; we example, Chief Paul Liquorie of the Holly Springs
are much more open now to understanding (NC) Police Department reported:
that we are like anyone else. We can’t just
slough it off. . . . When an officer goes We increased our wellness programs, includ-
through a traumatic event, we’ve got to reach ing the areas of mental health, physical
out and make sure this human being is okay fitness, and training. As a midsized agency
and is going to get through this, and wrap (75 sworn) we also try to promote a family
our arms around them as best we can.” atmosphere — holding family days, holiday
parties, and other events that build personal
relationships and the feeling of belonging at
Encouraging Time Off our department.
and Time With Family
Commander Ron Leonard of the Jefferson
Agency efforts to improve officers’ work-life County (CO) Sheriff ’s Office explained that his
balance by changing “old school” attitudes department hosts a catered employee appreciation
about policing can improve both retention event each year for employees to celebrate suc-
and recruitment. Chief Steve Mylett of the cess and honor their work. It also holds a summer
Akron (OH) Police Department described the employee picnic focused on family engagement,
importance of time off and time with family: with command staff manning the booths and a
food truck providing dinner to employees and their
“I came on in 1989. I loved this job so families.
much that I probably wore my uniform to
bed. I couldn’t wait to go to work, and I
was so pumped to be a police officer. Many Creating Options for Officers to Get Help
of my classmates, and people who came and Improve Their Well-Being
on before me, didn’t worry about taking Agencies are using various holistic approaches to
time off and didn’t focus on spending time improve their officers’ health and wellness. For
with our families because work came first. example, Chief Ryan Zuidema explained that
What a mistake that was. Unfortunately, we the Lynchburg (VA) Police Department’s holis-
witnessed a lot of divorces, alcoholism, and tic approach includes a post-academy training
other destructive outcomes. program on emotional survival for law enforce-
“So, I think this generation is actually ment that staff complete with a family member
smarter than we were in valuing their time or significant other. Additionally, all sworn and
off.” professional staff must undergo an annual mental
health checkup called “a checkup from the neck
An important related strategy for many depart- up,” and they have access to a department psychol-
ments is supporting the families of staff. For ogist as needed at no cost.

Giving Officers a Larger Voice
in the Agency
Ensuring that officers are heard within the agency
is an important way to improve retention, espe-
cially at a time when understaffing in many
agencies has placed added burdens on the remain-
ing officers. As Senior Officer Terry Cherry of the
Charleston (SC) Police Department shared:
“Police officers don’t have the same power

and agency that police chiefs and command
staff have. They don’t get to tell you, ‘Hey, I’m
unhappy. I’m miserable, this guy’s picking
on me.’ They come and they work. . . . And
when you take away their agency and the
ability to communicate internally, and you
The Anne Arundel County (MD) Police give them mandatory overtime, . . . all they
Department has a robust peer-to-peer support net- have left is to jump from agency to agency
work with 70 officers trained. The Naugatuck (CT) . . . because you’ve taken away the stakehold-
Police Department has expanded on this concept by ing aspect of being a police officer.”
developing a regional peer support network so that
officers can seek help outside the department. The
Leon County (FL) Sheriff ’s Office has a behavioral Improving Two-Way Communication
health and wellness coordinator, orientations for
Many agencies described different forms of two-
officers and their families, and a financial wellness
way communication as a strategy that helped
program.
agency leadership hear from their officers. For
Financial wellness is part of officer wellness. The example, Chief Jarod Towers of the Hyatts-
Leon County (FL) Sheriff ’s Office’s Executive Direc- ville (MD) Police Department conducted an
tor of Human Relations, Mary Nicholson, shared: agency-wide anonymous survey of sworn and
professional staff and found that agency culture
“Success for us is in the data. It’s telling us
and commitment to its officers (“family-type”
who’s using our holistic wellness programs
relationships), as well as transparency, were
and the outcomes that we are hoping to
important to them. The agency responded by
achieve. We have surpassed expectations.
increasing two-way communication — conduct-
For instance, with the SmartDollar financial
ing employee surveys and publishing a biweekly
program provided to our employees, we have
agency newsletter — and started recognizing staff
staff who have paid off $40,000 and $50,000 in
anniversaries and birthdays.
debt using that program. . . . We take care of
our employees so that they don’t feel the need
to leave us.”
We established constant communication and an open-door policy with the sheriff and command staff to
understand the needs of the agency and its employees.
Director of Human Resources Molly Hudson, Volusia (FL) Sheriff’s Office

Commander Kimberly Covelli of the Village of • Creating a monthly internal newsletter to provide
Lincolnshire (IL) Police Department shared: direct, consistent information to officers and staff.
“We offer department members the ability to • Designating Administrative Support Bureau
participate in advisory committees focusing commanders as advocates to quickly disseminate
on training, uniform and equipment, accurate information to staff.
policies and procedures, and recruitment. • Designating “retention ambassadors” at each
The purpose of these groups is to enhance work location to facilitate the accurate flow of
officers’ personal investment in the information, conduct stay interviews, and be
department by affording them the chance to champions for the agency.
bring forth ideas and collaborate on current
and future policing recommendations to the
Chief of Police.”
Creating Opportunities for Officers
to Grow Within the Agency
Even if officers feel they have a voice in their depart-
Acting on Officers’ Input ment, their time at an agency may be limited by
Larger agencies have made similar efforts to their ability to advance in their career. Attendees
enhance two-way communication to ensure that at PERF’s November 2022 conference stressed the
they not only hear officers and consider their importance of providing staff with opportunities
perspectives, but also act on the officers’ input. The for growth. Nearly three-fourths of PERF survey
Fairfax County (VA) Police Department, for exam- respondents report that they provide officers with
ple, took a number of steps, including: professional development opportunities as a reten-
tion strategy.
• Formalizing officer retention as a dedicated
responsibility in the newly named Recruiting
Investing in Officer Education
and Retention Section, with personnel specially
assigned to focus on retention. Many agencies incentivize advanced education (39
• Creating a retention action plan that includes percent of survey respondents), such as through
confidential “pulse check” interviews to gather pay increases, or even help fund further education.
feedback from current officers and mandatory For officers who stay, for example, the Gaithersburg
exit interviews for separating employees. (MD) Police Department will pay for their college
degree regardless of the major or field chosen.
• Creating an electronic, anonymous suggestion
box for personnel to submit ideas directly to the The Chicago Police Department has made sig-
retention team. nificant investments in higher education benefits. In
fact, it has sent so many officers to law school that
“Right now, we have more attorneys as patrol offi-
cers than the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office,”
according to Chief Yolanda Talley. She added, “We
are a very educated department and have paid for
a lot of undergraduate and graduate degrees, law
degrees, and doctorates.”

We are providing more leadership training for our first-line leadership, specifically in team-building,
coaching, and mentoring.
Captain Terrence Dunbar, Newport News (VA) Police Department
Creating Career Pathways Varying Officers’ Assignments
Reducing time-in-grade requirements for Some agencies are offering new and special assign-
promotions and offering promotion examinations ments to enable officers to challenge themselves and
on a more regular basis can enable officers to grow, which also makes them more valuable to the
move up in a more timely manner. However, only agency.
18 percent and 21 percent of survey respondents, Director of Policy and Communications David
respectively, have implemented these changes. Karas of the Wilmington (DE) Police Department,
Some agencies shared they have conducted for example, said, “Wilmington police officers are
buyouts or adjusted their maximum retirement offered a range of opportunities for advancement,
age so that they can move some people out in training, and professional development. This begins
order to move other people up. The Columbus with our intensive, in-house police academy, and
(OH) Police Department, for example, conducted continues throughout their careers through regular
an unprecedented buyout in the summer of 2022, in-service training and a wide variety of specialized
offering 100 veteran officers $200,000 apiece to training offerings.” And Captain Eric Versteeg of the
leave. Lodi (CA) Police Department said, “Our agency has
The Chicago Police Department instituted numerous collateral duty assignments to help pro-
a mandatory retirement age to open up vide variety and additional training for every officer
positions for younger officers. “We hadn’t had off probation.”
a promotional exam in 10 years because we
didn’t have a mandatory retirement age; people Showing Support From
could stay forever,” explained Chief Talley. “So, Agency Leadership
we ran into those problems where you have
When staff think that their department does not
people in a detective division for 40 years, and
support them, they do not want to stay around.
those vacancies just weren’t there to promote.
Police leaders are demonstrating commitment
Once we went to 63 years of age as a mandatory
to their officers by praising them when they do
requirement, people started leaving.”
well, supporting them when doing the right
thing still leads to a bad outcome, and holding
I think we retain officers as a result of the growth opportunities

we offer. Last year, the command staff gave the entire
department two development days, and we worked their
patrol shifts. On those two days, they just had to do something
related to personal or professional development. It just gave
them a little breather.
Chief John Clair, Town of Marion (VA) Police Department

LEFT:Representatives from the Bucktrout Funeral Home drop off donuts for the Williamsburg (VA) Police Department to enjoy
on Valentine’s Day, 2023. RIGHT: Senior Deputy Mayor Monisha Harrell of Seattle (WA).
them accountable when they violate policies or incidents, and the command team grills food for
expectations. staff on occasion to show support and engage with
According to Captain Chad Kauffman of the them.
Staunton (VA) Police Department, for example:
Gaining Support
“We revamped our awards and recognition
From the Local Community
program to better recognize officers for
exceptional performance. And we are utilizing A running theme through PERF’s interviews and
the PowerEngage survey platform, which the national conference was the importance of the
provides near-real-time positive feedback to local community’s attitudes toward and interactions
officers from citizens they interact with.” with the department and its officers. Community
attitudes can have a major impact on whether
According to Chief Sean Dunn of the officers feel valued, respected, and rewarded by the
Williamsburg (VA) Police Department, “We have work they do, which in turn affects their decisions
made a conscious effort to recognize employees’ about continuing to do that work.
efforts more than at any other time in my career. “People want to feel valued, from both the
We might do it by email, a conversation in a hallway agency and the community,” said Chief Shanon
or lineup, or through a formal award recognition. Anderson of the Oregon State University Police
We also opened up command meetings virtually Department. “They can leave at a moment’s notice,
to all personnel to be sure all staff are aware of so you can’t wait to see something happening with
department happenings, as well as priorities.” The them to make changes or fix issues.”
department also provides lunch or dinner for staff
Given the negative framing of many national
at times such as training events or following difficult
stories regarding police in the past several years,
it is important for a department to distinguish its
culture, activities, and officers from that national
narrative. It can do so by improving the local
community’s understanding of their local police
The Mayor and Council support our
department.
department and regularly attend ceremonies
and recognition events.
Chief Jarod Towers, Hyattsville (MD)
Police Department

The [Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office] hosts citizen academies, and graduates can join the alumni
association. This group of volunteers work to show appreciation for the employees’ dedication to
community safety. They provide breakfast burritos and other items of appreciation to employees.
Commander Ron Leonard, Jefferson County (CO) Sheriff’s Office
Government leaders are a reflection of the forward. And we let them know how we
community, so their support — such as showing up were working to solve some of the problems
at events sponsored by law enforcement — also rep- around having to work, additional shifts and
resents community support. Senior Deputy Mayor all that. [W]e’re hoping that helps turn the
Monisha Harrell of Seattle (WA) shared: tide in some of the loss [of staff].”
“The mayor’s office has gone to every single Some agencies indicated that strong commu-
roll call for all of our precincts, all shifts. We nity support helped them maintain or even increase
talked to every officer, letting them know their staffing levels.
that they have a direct voice in how we move

Section 4: Financial Incentives as a
Recruitment and Retention Strategy
Many agencies are offering financial Strategies to Attract Lateral Hires

incentives to attract new officers or retain their
current officers. These incentives can be effective, Just over half (52 percent) of survey respondents
but they intensify the competition among agencies shared that their agency is specifically trying to hire
over the limited number of individuals available. officers from other agencies. Agencies with staff-
According to Watch Commander Larry Church of ing shortages have paid lateral transfers sign-on
the Georgetown University Police Department, for bonuses of up to $30,000. Some agencies said they
example: adopted this strategy out of desperation to address
the current staffing crisis.
“We were so desperate and the pool of selec- Strategies to “swipe” officers from other agen-
tion was so weak. We had to go to laterals, cies have become blatant. Some agencies have
which means you don’t have to go through targeted officers from specific jurisdictions by
the Academy. . . . But the hard problem is still geofencing around locations they frequent, such as
the selection pool because it’s so competitive. gyms. As Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery
[E]verybody’s fighting for the same people County (MD) Police Department noted:
and at the end of the day it’s still about the
money.” “We found an agency that was geofencing
around our district police stations, highlight-
ing folks’ cellphones and social media outlets
Agencies Offering Variety to advertise for hiring existing officers from
of Recruitment Incentives our department.”
PERF’s survey found that the most common
Other agencies have sent recruiters to job fairs
financial incentives for recruitment are
located in neighboring agencies’ jurisdictions. Most
providing a salary while in the training academy,
concerning is the swiping of new officers directly
free academy training, and college tuition
from the academy, after another agency has trained
reimbursement. (See Figure 8.) Less common
them. Director Erik Bourgerie of the Colorado
strategies include employment sign-on bonuses
Peace Officer Standards & Training shared that:
and housing assistance; the Los Angeles Police
Department’s Housing for Hires program is a “It really does seem like the norms we would
good example of the latter. (See “LAPD Launches use for recruiting have gone off the rails. One
‘Housing for Hires’ to Boost Recruiting.”) of the big complaints I’m getting from agency
heads from across the state is agencies poach-
ing recruits out of the academy.”
50 — Section 4: Financial Incentives as a Recruitment and Retention Strategy Police Executive Research Forum
Figure 8: Departments Offering Variety of Financial Incentives for Officer Recruitment
Salary paid during academy training 94%
Free academy training 86%
College tuition reimbursement 71%
Employment signing bonus 38%
Stipend for fluency other than English 37%
Prior military benefit 25%
Relocation assistance 17%
Training academy graduation bonuses 16%
Housing assistance (renting or buying) 10%
Student loan forgiveness 9%
Percentage of Agencies Offering Different Types of Incentives to Recruit Officers

Note: N=238. Each agency could pick multiple items from the list and was asked to choose any of the specified incentives
employed for retention of officers/deputies. Twenty-eight agencies were removed from this analysis because they elected not
to answer the question.
Source: PERF Member Questionnaire on Recruitment and Retention
“Historically there have been rules of etiquette Downsides of Lateral Recruiting

regarding recruiting each other’s officers but now
those rules have been blurred,” explained Chief While lateral recruiting is widespread and often
Michael Harrison of the Baltimore (MD) Police effective, agencies stressed to PERF that it can have
Department. Agencies stated that they do not like significant drawbacks.
taking officers from other agencies (or having their
Cost. Representatives of agencies that have pur-
own officers taken), but that the current staffing cri-
sued officers from other agencies surmised that this
sis often leaves them with few other options. Chief
strategy is unsustainable, since agencies will have
Russ Hamill of the Laurel (MD) Police Department
to continuously raise bonuses to out-compete each
shared:
other. At some point the bubble will burst.
“When I first came in, a number of officers
Possible culture mismatch. Many agencies
from another local agency came over to us
expressed hesitancy with accepting laterals, and
and I struggled with that because I knew
even agencies that feel driven to recruit laterals have
that agency was having issues with keeping
concerns. For example, an officer leaving one agency
people as well. . . . [W]e got a bunch of great
for another will bring the previous agency’s culture
cops there, and maybe they would have gone
with them, which might clash with the culture of
someplace else [if not to our agency], but
their new agency. And Chief Danny Barton of the
those are tough decisions for us. If we keep
Coppell (TX) Police Department warned, “A culture
taking people from each other in that man-
of mercenaries . . . is toxic. Money and incentives do
ner, we’ll create larger issues; we’ve got to be
not instill belief in what you are doing.”
careful.”
Police Executive Research Forum Section 4: Financial Incentives as a Recruitment and Retention Strategy — 51
This year we have also implemented hiring bonuses for sworn officers, military personnel, and an
internal employee referral incentive.
Lieutenant Ted Lopez, Anaheim (CA) Police Department
Potential for problematic officers. Adding not abbreviated academies. The purpose is for all
to these concerns are the limitations in preventing recruits, whether they are new to the profession
officers with a history of misconduct from moving or have previous experience, to learn the depart-
from agency to agency. Chief Jason Armstrong ment’s values and culture and to build a team
of the Apex (NC) Police Department shared mentality.
an alarming case in which an officer whom he
had fired for criminal use of force while at the Recruitment Incentives
Ferguson (MO) Police Department was hired at Have Only Limited Benefits
another agency before that case was concluded.
Agencies shared that while financial incentives are
While thorough background checks could well intentioned and overwhelmingly appreciated
help prevent such occurrences, several par- by incoming officers, overcoming their staffing
ticipants in PERF’s conference said they had issues will take deeper, longer-term departmental
challenges in obtaining information about officers changes. According to Chief John Clair of the Town
from their prior or current agency. State laws of Marion (VA) Police Department:
requiring law enforcement agencies to share
information about their officers with other “I challenge someone to produce objective
agencies during background checks can help, data, that any of the financial incentives are
according to Commander Ronald Leonard of the truly working. The money we throw around
Jefferson County Sheriff ’s Office in Colorado, one just keeps on adding up. I think if we offered
state with such a law. a 20k bonus, we’d immediately get lateral
Director of Training Juan Balderrama of the transfers, who’d quit a year later. I won’t say
Oklahoma City (OK) Police Department shared I don’t believe in a certain level of financial
that his agency seeks to protect against prob- incentives. . . . I just don’t think we need
lematic lateral officers entering the agency by large bonuses.”
requiring laterals to attend full-length academies,
Oklahoma City Police

Department Director of
Training Juan “Beto”
Balderrama (FAR LEFT)
and Apex (NC) Police
Chief Jason Armstrong
(LEFT)
Agencies Also Offering Retention bonuses. Agencies shared that
Retention Incentives retaining seasoned, trained officers is paramount
in their efforts to maintain organizational stability.
Various agencies shared with us in interviews Chief LeRonne Armstrong of the Oakland (CA)
and the conference that they are offering large Police Department explained his preference for
sums to retain current officers. For instance, the retaining over recruiting. The Oakland City Coun-
Hyattsville (MD) Police Department employed a cil had pushed an initiative to pay a sign-on bonus
one-time $7,000 retention bonus for all officers; the of $50,000 to new recruits, but Chief Armstrong
Aurora (CO) Police Department paid two bonuses believed that using those funds instead to create a
totaling $10,000; and the Memphis (TN) Police retention program would result in higher dividends
Department gave a 9 percent bonus to officers who for the department: “We were competing against
committed to staying. Many agencies providing 20 other local law enforcement agencies that were
retention bonuses are offering them as a one-time providing bonuses and . . . I thought we had to
occurrence to meet current staffing needs, using figure out a way to retain our officers as opposed to
surplus funds that were available due to staffing competing with the other agencies’ recruiting.”
shortages.
Chief Armstrong convinced the council to
redirect the funds into a bonus structure ($3,000
Several Types of Financial Incentives for three years, $5,000 for five years, and $7,500 for
In some cases, financial incentives can help tip the 10-plus years) and it has proven successful. “Our
balance in ways that help with retention, as well attrition rate has plummeted,” according to Chief
as encourage officers to develop and grow in ways Armstrong. “We have seen zero officers leave, and
that are valuable for the department. 12 officers have returned.” (Returning officers were
eligible for the bonus if they had left in the last two
For example, Police Lieutenant James Gordon years.)
of the Virginia Beach (VA) Police Department
noted, “Our department recently implemented a Increased overtime opportunities. Agencies
new step-pay plan, which seems to be helping curb have also adopted various other financial incentives
early retirements by allowing our officers to see to retain officers. (See Figure 9.) Sixty-one percent
the projection of pay increases they will receive. In of agencies answering PERF’s questionnaire offer
addition, our City Council and Senior Executive increased overtime opportunities as an incentive.
City Leadership have publicly supported our offi- Traditionally, overtime offers an effective means
cers and have approved pay increases for our police for officers to quickly increase their take-home pay,
staff over the past two years, when other cities and though some agencies caution that mandatory or
states were cutting police funding.” excessive overtime may push officers away. (See
Section 5.) Many agencies are also providing pay
increases or bonuses to officers who meet specified
service milestones or receive a college degree.
Recently we significantly raised our starting pay and made our lateral step-plan go all the way up to 20
years of service. We have received a lot of lateral applicants from other departments. While we have
hired several laterals, we have also disqualified many more due to employment related issues at their
current departments. Despite this, the strategy overall is working for us. But other departments may
follow suit once they see what we’re doing.
Manager Janie Gonzalez, Dallas (TX) Area Rapid Transit Police Department
Figure 9: Departments Offering Variety of Financial Incentives for Officer Retention
Increased overtime opportunities 61%
Pay increase/bonus at service milestone 52%
Pay increase/bonus for college degree 39%
Participation in DROP 25%
Flexible retirement/pension options 13%
Percentage of Agencies Conducting Specified Activities to Retain Officers

Note: N=254. Each agency could pick multiple items from the list and was asked to choose any of the specified activities
employed for retention of officers/deputies. Twelve agencies were removed from this analysis because they elected not to
answer the question.
Source: PERF Member Questionnaire on Recruitment and Retention, October 2022
Improved retirement options. In addition, If officers stay on the job purely for financial
many agencies are seeking to boost retention by reasons even as their commitment to the profes-
offering deferred retirement option plan (DROP) sion and their department’s culture weakens, their
programs or other flexible retirement/pension actions and attitudes could damage all aspects of the
options. For instance, the Prince George’s County department: its culture, retention and recruitment
(MD) Police Department restructured its DROP efforts, and operational objectives regarding public
program because, as Chief Malik Aziz explained, safety. In these circumstances, a department may be
“We’re at a critical juncture: this year was bad, next better served by adopting policies and procedures
year it’ll get worse, and the year after that is going to to let officers go more easily if they do not reach
be terrible if we don’t actually keep some of our vet- expectations.
erans here.” Under Prince George’s program, once Also, as Lieutenant Bill Walsh of the Voorhees
an officer has 22 years of service they can begin Township (NJ) Police Department noted, a strategy
accruing, in addition to their salary, retirement pay of changing retirement options to try to boost reten-
that they receive after they retire. The program has tion may be less effective with younger workers,
probably led several hundred officers to stay on who may instead focus on the experience they can
longer, department staff estimate. gain now.
Retention Incentives Money Alone Isn’t Enough

Also Carry Potential Risks to Keep Good Officers
Chief Aziz cautioned that if a department improves Commander Kristine Anthony-Miller of the Hous-
its retirement benefits, “you may wind up holding ton (TX) Police Department described the mix of
on to those senior officers who will not retire so that financial and non-financial factors that encourage
we can bring up new leaders.” Financial incentives officers to stay:
might lead some officers to remain in the depart-
ment even if they no longer had a genuine interest “Many officers still have a passion for ser-
in the profession or a drive to meet the department’s vice and regardless of the challenges, they
high expectations. chose this profession for a reason and they’re
going to see it through. The Houston Police
Department does offer a competitive salary As an immediate solution to a current work-
(after the first year), as well as a variety of force shortage, financial incentives can be extremely
incentive pay. As a large agency, we obviously effective and warranted in a crisis. Nevertheless,
offer more benefits, such as the ability to because the incentives are generally short term,
move around to various divisions and spe- agencies may see a downturn in morale once they
cialized units, and the ability to more easily end. And other retention strategies discussed in
promote than some smaller agencies. this report may be more sustainable and even more
effective.
“For those eligible to retire, the cost of
retiree health insurance has been prohibitive
for some employees and their families, so they
stay. For those officers who have DROP, see-
ing that account grow has encouraged some
to stay.”
LAPD Launches “Housing for Hires” to Boost Recruiting

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), facing a deficit of more than 200 sworn personnel38 and
recognizing that lack of affordable housing was harming its recruiting efforts, launched an innovative
program in June 2022 to provide rent subsidies for potential recruits.
Rising housing costs pose a challenge in many areas of the country, but the problem is especially
acute in the Los Angeles area, where housing costs account for 38 percent of households’ annual
expenditures — outpacing the national average of 34 percent.39 An LAPD analysis determined that
new recruits earning LAPD’s starting salary of $70,804 could reasonably afford a monthly rent of
$1,500. Unfortunately, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in LA is closer to $2,500 a
month.40
To address this discrepancy, LAPD’s Housing
for Hires program offers recruits $1,000 a month to
go toward rent for up to two years, allowing them
to complete their six months of academy training,
undergo their one-year probationary period, and
settle into their first assignment with the department.
While the program has a straightforward design,
LAPD has rolled it out gradually to ensure smooth
implementation. Captain Aaron McCraney with LAPD’s
Employment and Recruitment Division explained:
“It has intentionally been a slow build, and to

date we have 38 officers enrolled in the housing
>> continued on page 56 Captain Aaron McCraney
38. Los Angeles Police Department, “Sworn and Civilian Personnel Statistics Information for the Pay Period Ending
November 19, 2022,” http://www.lapdpolicecom.lacity.org/120622/PS_120622.pdf.
39. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Consumer Expenditures for the Los Angeles Area: 2020-21,” October 13, 2022,
https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/consumerexpenditures_losangeles.htm.
40. Zumper, “Los Angeles, CA Rent Prices,” January 19, 2023, https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/los-angeles-ca.
program. With a pool of thousands of candidates advancing through the hiring process,
hundreds have inquired about their eligibility and are anxiously waiting for their opportunity to
participate.”
To fund the new program, LAPD partnered with the Los Angeles Police Foundation, which
reached out to previous donors and others potentially interested in addressing crime in the area. The
foundation has raised more than $2 million since April 2022. In addition to working with developers,
the foundation has contacted property owners who understand the benefits of having an officer
living on their premises.
One appeal of offering a rent subsidy rather than increased salary for new officers is that the
money isn’t taxable and poses no additional burden to the city government or LAPD. The Los
Angeles Police Foundation processes all of the reimbursements for the officers.
McCraney hopes that Housing for Hires can eventually expand beyond new recruits and assist
officers throughout the department. This would serve as an effective retention strategy as well as a
recruitment tool. “We’ve only scratched the surface regarding how many people we’ve reached out
to. And the more the word gets out and the more we build this program, the stronger we’ll get, and
additional resources will come in this direction.”
Los Angeles Police

Foundation Executive
Director Dana Katz (FAR
LEFT) and new recruits to
the Los Angeles Police
Department during a
March 2023 graduation.
(LEFT)
Section 5: Agency Operations
The police staffing crisis is having a major

impact on how many agencies operate, but the
We want our cops to be cops. We want them
reverse is also true. The choices agencies make
to do what we sent them to the academy to
about how to operate while understaffed can affect
train them to do.
— in positive or negative ways — their ability to
recruit and retain officers. Chief Paul Oliveira, New Bedford (MA)
Police Department
Revising Officers’ Time

on and off the Clock to gain new experience and provide opportunities
for career development and advancement. Sixty-
For agencies with fewer officers available to carry
one percent of respondents in PERF’s October 2022
the load of the entire department, a common
questionnaire cited overtime opportunities as a
response has been to maximize the number of work
tool they use to retain officers. And, as a temporary
hours for their current staff. However, agencies
policy to assure sufficient staffing, agencies find
are using different approaches to do this, not all
their officers can handle — and even appreciate —
of which serve their long-term interests. Overus-
mandatory overtime.
ing mandated overtime, taking away officers’ time
off, and forcing officers to cover undesirable shifts However, extended periods of mandatory
can negatively affect officer wellness, retention, and overtime can cause officer burnout. As Undersheriff
recruitment. Richard Lucia of the Alameda County (CA) Sheriff ’s
Office explained, “At first, the deputies were okay
with the mandatory overtime because they could
Mandatory Overtime
kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel, but
Overtime can be a valuable way for officers to now, it’s like there’s just no light.”
enhance their incomes. Depending on the way Overreliance on mandatory overtime can
assignments are made, it also could enable officers therefore worsen staffing shortages by leading to
lower retention rates. Commander Ron Leonard
of the Jefferson County (CO) Sheriff ’s Office, for
example, explained that a nearby agency’s manda-
Many of our deputies take advantage of tory overtime practice helped staffing at his agency
overtime opportunities as a means to increase by enabling it to hire 35 lateral officers.
their take-home wages.
Significant amounts of overtime also place a
Mark Diaz, Wayne County (MI) Recruiter for large financial burden on agencies. Captain Dan-
Law Enforcement and Jails
iel Gordon of the Alexandria (VA) Sheriff ’s Office
Police Executive Research Forum Section 5: Agency Operations — 57

Rotating or Sharing Patrol Assignments
Some short-staffed agencies have sought to increase

flexibility in staffing across shifts and units/divisions
in order to fill the positions most important to cover
while still considering officer safety.
Police Lieutenant Roberto Villegas of the Santa
Monica (CA) Police Department shared that tradi-
tionally, his agency had addressed staffing shortages
at the division level. But in patrol, the agency had to
maintain minimum staff levels for public safety and
shared that, “We are in month six of the fiscal year other reasons, so it chose to break down the silos
and we’re about 80 percent expended in our over- between divisions and address the patrol staffing
time budget. And we’ve seen mandatory overtime shortage at an all-agency level to assure patrol was
increases several times a month.” sufficiently staffed. The goal, said Villegas, was “to
change the mindset to we’re all in this together. It’s
Undersheriff Richard Lucia explained: “[O]ur
not just patrol.”
entire sworn staff is on mandatory overtime and
has been for two years. When I say mandatory, that The agency pulled people from their regular
means over and above the overtime that they’re duties — detectives, cross divisions, and special
working at their normal duty stations, but it’s all units — as needed for a day or week but worked to
focused in our jail. We’re under a consent decree keep the burden on staff manageable. For instance,
that requires us to hire an additional 350 people, it can be a cultural shock for detectives to move
260 of those sworn and we’re not even close. So back to patrol, so detectives are rotated to patrol
we have to put the entire agency on mandatory only once every three or four weeks. This strategy
overtime.” allows officers to experience other assignments
while helping provide needed coverage; it also pro-
motes a sense of mutual support across the agency.
Reducing Overtime Burdens
by Putting Command Staff on Patrol
Reconsidering Specialized Units
Agencies have taken various steps to lessen the
burden of mandatory overtime. The New Bedford Agencies have also met minimum patrol staffing
(MA) Police Department has adopted a policy needs by taking staff from specialized units or dis-
prohibiting overtime two days in a row. Other agen- banding these units entirely. In some cases, this may
cies have made more staff available for overtime by be an opportunity for agencies to evaluate whether
putting command staff on patrol for overtime shifts. they have become over-dependent on specialized
This has the multiple benefits of demonstrating the units if the units’ activities can easily be incorpo-
agency’s commitment to every officer — patrol offi- rated into the agency as a whole.
cers appreciate that the increased workload is being In other cases, however, eliminating specialized
felt by the entire department, not just patrol — and units may leave an agency without needed expertise
strengthening contacts between leadership and the or focus on specific topics, or may make patrol less
rank and file. efficient by forcing it to deal with the most difficult
Similarly, the Dunwoody (GA) Police Depart- and highly stressful calls for service (such as mental
ment requires all sworn staff to take part in health calls, homelessness calls, and substance abuse
overtime regardless of seniority; having command calls) that a specialized unit could handle more
staff participate in overtime on patrol can benefit effectively. Retaining specialized units might also
both line-level officers and the community. aid an agency’s retention efforts by reducing the risk
that officers will burn out on those tough calls.
58 — Section 5: Agency Operations Police Executive Research Forum

Further, the presence or absence of certain
specialized units, especially during a staffing crisis,
sends a message to the local community about how
the agency views its role and how it prioritizes the
services it provides. These signals are important
ways in which the agency can educate the commu-
nity, foster respect and appreciation for officers, and
seek to inspire community members to consider
joining the agency.
How a Department Handles Overtime,

Shift Assignments Is Important
Despite a department’s best efforts to accommo-

date its officers’ preferences, it will inevitably make
assignments and schedules that adversely affect
officers’ lives outside the department. The challenge
is far greater for understaffed departments, which Members of the Santa Monica Police Department talk to a
young child about the importance of pedestrian safety.
have had to distribute undesirable shifts such as
nights, weekends, and holidays among a smaller
group of officers. Such assignments can significantly
affect officers’ well-being, productivity, and commit-
ment to the department, especially if officers already Improving Efficiency
have mandated overtime and feel stretched thin due
To take some of the pressure off patrol officers,
to low staffing levels.
departments are finding ways to optimize their
For some officers with young families and little department’s response to the community’s calls
seniority, an undesirable shift assignment or night for service. Not every call for service requires a
shift may have a much greater impact than it could sworn police response; some may even be handled
have on a more senior officer. Captain Nicholas remotely. And many agencies have looked for ways
Collins of the Prince George’s County (MD) Police to “work smarter” by using technology and analyz-
Department shared, “One of the biggest complaints ing where they’re most needed.
from our officers is that a lot of younger officers
don’t understand they have to work midnights and Diverting Calls for Service
weekends.” to Other Responders
Canceling previously approved time off and
mandating last-minute overtime assignments are Some agencies are improving their response to calls
very disruptive to any officer’s efforts to maintain a for service starting with the first stage of the call,
work-life balance. Agencies using overtime to help by assuring policies and procedures are in place so
address staffing shortages should strive to give officers call-takers diagnose calls accurately, code the call
sufficient notice of overtime shifts to avoid creating priority correctly, and dispatch the response appro-
unnecessary strain for officers and their families. priate for that call.
Also, providing time off through annual leave Assistant Chief LaShanna Potts of the Colum-
and thoughtful shift scheduling is important to bus (OH) Division of Police described how 911
enable officers to reset and recover from the rigors, call-takers determine whether police need to go to
stress, and trauma of policing. And agencies should a call or if a different response is warranted. This is
avoid basing assignments primarily on seniority or an important consideration in mental health calls,
tenure in the department when possible. where there could be a threat of violence.

“Luckily for us, we have healthcare professionals remotely for the benefit of their families and
that are embedded in our communication service their personal lives.
center,” she said. “So when the calls come in, they’re
“Additionally, we began to hire civil-
assessing at the same time the call is being dis-
ian investigators this year. We just started
patched. Officers are readily available if needed, but
two civilian investigators in our recruitment
oftentimes we find that officers are not needed” and
unit, doing background investigations on
another resource is more appropriate. This approach
applicants, and they can also work remotely.
not only preserves needed officer resources but also
They’re retired detectives, so they’re familiar
avoids sending officers to situations that could be
with the department and community.”
exacerbated by a police presence.
Also, by conducting job interviews remotely,
Automated Crime Reporting agencies can reach out to a much wider geographic
area, potentially attracting a larger and more diverse
While some calls for service can be handled by non- group of applicants. “We do all of our interviews
law-enforcement personnel, still others — reports virtually. Because of that, we’ve had a much more
of petty theft or vandalism, for example — may not diverse hiring pool,” reported Nisse Lee Ramser,
need a human response at all. Talent Acquisition, Development, and Management
Chief Rex Troche of the Sarasota (FL) Police Administrator of the City of Greenwood Village
Department described how citizens can report (CO).
crimes using the department’s updated webpage.
During a recent hurricane, “it allowed us to really Technology
take care of business essentially, rather than going
to some of these minor complaints. People were Police agencies have often resisted new technology
directed via a voice prompt, ‘If this is such and such due to the cost, but the current staffing crisis has
type of crime, you can go online and report it.’ So, opened many minds (and pockets) to new ideas for
we saw a significant drop in calls for service in that efficiency. A number of agencies have adopted new
regard.” technologies to improve their everyday processes.
According to Director Eric Bourgerie of the
Virtual Responses and Telework Colorado Peace Officer Standards & Training, the
department has a small staff so it has expanded
Agencies are finding that some types of calls can online training, is working to automate reporting,
be effectively handled remotely by sworn or profes-
sional staff and have established or enhanced their
help desks to better assist community members who
do not need an in-person response.
Other agencies have started using virtual private
network (VPN) technologies to allow certain staff to
work from home. Major Emily McKinley described
how the Louisville (KY) Metro Police Department
has been using such technology:
“A significant amount of our professional

staff, especially in our records department,
have the capability to work remotely. Some of
those are telephone reporting technicians and
records data personnel. This began during Nisse Lee Ramser, Talent Acquisition, Development, and
Management Administrator of the City of Greenwood
COVID, but some of them still prefer to work
Village (CO)

We are making up for the lack of sworn staffing by hiring more civilian and retired officers back to part-
time positions as well as creating some new full-time positions.
Chief Wade Gourley, Oklahoma City (OK) Police Department
and is improving its use of the records management the shoplifter and submits paperwork to the police
system to take reports from the public more easily. department that is processed by clerical staff and
Sarasota (FL) Chief Rex Troche mused about ways later reviewed by an officer, who sends it for charg-
that handling calls remotely or virtually could make ing. The ultimate consequences for [shoplifters]
an agency more responsive for the people who feel have not changed. And in fact, we’ve seen a lot of
more comfortable with that medium than interact- success with loss prevention, identifying them and
ing face-to-face: dealing with them without a police response.”
“I have kids that are in their 20s, and they Agencies are also integrating professional
don’t want to talk to anybody face to face. staff more fully into police operations, which can
They’d rather text you. [We know] about tele- improve agency efficiency and response quality over
health, so what about tele-cop? Maybe some- the long term. The models of integrating profes-
body doesn’t want to meet with a cop and it’s sional staff into the response protocols vary, with
a minor crime, so we FaceTime each other. some agencies focusing professional assistance on
We really have to be creative as we move for- fulfilling desk duties, others on responding to low-
ward, because we’re doing more with less.” risk calls, and still others giving professional staff
larger roles.
One popular strategy is shifting low-priority
Greater Use of Professional Staff work (normally work that does not have a safety
Some community members, such as business vic- risk) from officers to civilians. As Deputy Chief
tims of commercial theft, are most concerned that Brian LaBarge of the Burlington (VT) Police
a report be completed; for these types of callers it Department explained, calls are prioritized by
does not matter whether the responding member of public safety: officers focus on “hot calls,” while
the agency is sworn or professional. Other com- non-sworn community service officers take on low-
munity members, such as private citizens who are priority calls and community support liaisons, who
victims of personal property theft, expect a sworn are professional staff, take on other low-priority
and uniformed officer to respond to their call for calls, many of which are mental health calls.
service. The Aurora (CO) Police Department has
launched a community service officer program
Community Service Officers in which professional staff respond to traffic acci-
dents that involve only property damage. Division
The St. Cloud (MN) Police Department has created Chief Christopher Juul explained that the depart-
a unique program to lessen the load of answering ment hopes these staff also will eventually take on
calls for shoplifting, relying on retailers and com- cold cases that don’t necessarily need a uniformed
munity service officers to take on this response. response. Not only do officers appreciate that the
As Commander Adam Meierding explained, the program lowers their burden, but many of the
department “completely redesigned how we take community service officers would like to be police
shoplifters from our local businesses. . . . [The officers, so the program is a good way to develop
department] worked with major retailers and future officers.
developed a process where . . . the retailer identifies

Prior to the George Floyd incident we had a co-responder unit where we would pair a mental health
professional with an officer, but now it’s completely civilianized so the mental health professional
responds to mental health or person-in-crisis calls where there’s not a known danger to the person or
others. They don’t have a weapon. If needed, police will respond with them. . . . That’s working well. It’s
relieving the load of mental health or person-in-crisis calls where an officer doesn’t need to respond.
Lieutenant Marjane Khazraeinazmpour, Minneapolis (MN) Police Department
Civilian Investigators Responding to Mental Health Calls

Police departments in Baltimore (MD), Mesa (AZ), A promising area for collaboration is responding
and Phoenix (AZ) have created civilian investigator to calls for service to address mental health issues.
roles. These individuals respond to a wide variety Receiving assistance in these types of calls raises
of cases other than active crime scenes, and they fewer concerns among officers and unions: police
have many duties that parallel police roles, such as welcome the expertise offered by mental health pro-
collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. But fessionals, and having these experts assist on calls
they do not carry firearms, engage with suspects, or helps humanize the police.
have arrest powers. Agencies employ various co-responder models
“They can work their case all the way to the for mental health calls, but our findings show that
end,” retired Sergeant Jason Davis of the Phoenix agencies are moving to integrate mental health
Police Department explained. “When it comes time experts to handle these calls more appropriately
to actually arrest someone, they just have to work while also removing the burden from officers. Some
with a sworn officer to effect that arrest.” 41 Because agencies rely on mental health experts to respond
civilian professional staff fill these investigator roles, to some types of calls independently and respond
detectives have time to focus on more complex to other calls in conjunction with a co-responder,
cases. while other agencies always use a co-response
model.
Adopting professional staff into these roles is
not always widely supported. For example, Com-
missioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore (MD) Investing in Analysts
Police Department explained that there was union Several agencies are investing in crime analysts,
concern that officers were losing positions to profes- intelligence analysts, and performance analysts to
sional staff but countered that “we’re not reducing find ways to improve processes, prevent crime, and
the number of spots, we’re only adding to them.” respond to and investigate crime more effectively.
Similarly, the New Bedford (MA) Police Having access to skilled analysts reduces offi-
Department developed a plan to civilianize desk cers’ workload while providing more targeted and
officers at three stations in order to put more man- efficient responses. Major Juan Balderrama of the
power on the street, but then removed the positions Oklahoma City (OK) Police Department explained
altogether after union pushback. that the department has benefited from the ten
41. Salma Reyes and Nathan Collins, “National and Valley police departments hire more civilian investigators to fill vacancies,” KTAR
News, October 3, 2022, https://ktar.com/story/5271984/national-and-valley-police-departments-hire-more-civilian-investigators-to-
fill-vacancies/ .

senior intelligence analysts it has hired, who are Department pointed out, “We are a capitalistic
assigned to divisions and can assist in real time, society and when we don’t meet the needs of society,
working day and evening shifts; the department things come in and replace it.”
plans to hire eight to ten more entry-level analysts
next year. Determining the Appropriate Response
Integrating analysts into regular agency to Calls for Service
operations provides a role that may be filled by pro-
Many agencies have engaged with their communi-
fessional staff and gives agencies a tool to analyze
ties to create a joint understanding of which kinds
how to work more effectively. Data-driven practices,
of calls will receive an in-person response by a
including incorporating data analysis into everyday
sworn officer versus a member of the department’s
practices and systems to guide allocating resources,
professional staff. During these conversations, agen-
can both reduce crime and save departments
cies can educate the community about their role
money.
and priorities and make sure the community shares
A good example is the Seattle (WA) Police these values and will accept the change in service.
Department’s approach to understanding the types
For some types of crime, such as violent crime,
of calls received and how to better handle them.
an in-person police response is expected. But
Based on an analysis of previous calls and dispo-
agencies need to consider priority levels and which
sitions, the department classifies calls by level of
types of crime would not demand an immediate
risk, which in turn determines the appropriate
police response and could have a professional staff
response from a spectrum of possibilities — from
response or online reporting.
police response only, to a co-response model with
police and a social worker, to a social-worker-only Police staffing shortages have come amidst
response. high levels of homelessness in many jurisdictions,
overwhelming opioid addiction and overdoses, and
growing public awareness of the mental health crisis
Setting Priorities and Expectations
across the nation. This challenging set of problems
With the Community
is reframing many of the conversations between
Given police departments’ difficulty in attracting police and the community about community pri-
and retaining officers, they may struggle to meet orities and the role of the police. In some places,
the needs of the community. The field of polic- the dynamic has shifted from calls to “defund the
ing must do more to understand those needs and police” to a more constructive discussion over how
align police services to meet them. As Senior Police to best help people in crisis.
Officer Terry Cherry of the Charleston (SC) Police
Every city is going to have to figure out how much risk they’re
going to be able to assess when a 911 call comes in. So that
system had to be built at the very front end, for us to really
understand what calls we can push out to social services. We
have a community service officer program, other alternative
programs, and a lot of other different developments. But trying
to assess risk on a call is really one of the biggest jobs.
Chief Adrian Diaz, Seattle (WA) Police Department

One would think with the climate in Oakland, which tends to be anti-police, they would like to see
police less. But we’ve seen an increase in calls for service and demand to see a uniformed officer. . . .
[I]n some ways, it’s a barometer of how well the department is doing: if you get more calls for service, it
means they want police. . . .
[Also,] some of the alternative responses have not been effective . . . because we went to alternative
services before they were prepared to provide the service. So while we wanted to have someone
different than police show up, when they showed up they weren’t equipped to actually satisfy that
community member’s call. For instance, we have a non-police response to mental health calls, but some
mental health responders don’t enter residences, and they don’t go to calls where there’s potential
violence.
Chief LeRonne Armstrong, Oakland (CA) Police Department
Educating the Community on “What are people’s perceptions of crime

How Understaffing Affects Police Operations and of their safety in your communities?
We need to factor that in as well. In fact,
Elected officials need to be part of this important people may want [police to deal with] that
discussion and understand how the staffing crisis is barking dog who’s keeping them up at night
affecting police actions. The relationship between more than a stolen car in some respects, so
police staffing and crime rates is complex, but agen- do you just tell the person who calls about
cies that are moving from hot call to hot call have the barking dog that you’re not going to
no time to conduct proactive police work, perform deal with that any more?”
community policing, or invest in victim-centered
approaches — all of which are necessary to improve As agencies make the case with local
community relations and reduce crime. leaders for added resources to help address their
staffing shortages, they also need to effectively
Chief Jason Armstrong of the Apex (NC) Police
communicate their current hiring and retention
Department reflected on how he had recently
challenges. Even if the community recognizes the
engaged in such conversations and some of the hard
importance of hiring more officers and provides
questions he needed to be able to answer:
the resources to do so, it may still need to
“I recently had this conversation with my appreciate that resources alone won’t necessarily
[town] council . . . about staffing, and the solve the problem.
question came up of how we are factoring-in Further, by describing all the things it can no
crime to decide what our staffing needs to be. longer do because of officer shortages, an agency
But it goes beyond just looking at crime. can educate community members about the
“For me, it comes down to quality of ser- many important roles it plays in the community.
vice and the quality of life for the community As noted above, this could yield benefits for both
that you’re serving. You need to look at not retention and recruitment by leading to greater
just your costs or your crime rate, but what appreciation of local officers and inspiring
people in the community are talking to you community members to consider policing as a
about. . . . You can use that information when career.
talking with elected officials about why you
need more staffing. It’s not always based on
your crime numbers.

Estimating an Agency’s Workload Demands
Agencies should base their staffing needs on a true understanding of the organization’s workload
demands. As Dr. Jeremy Wilson of the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice explained
at PERF’s November 2022 conference:
“It’s helpful to think about this from a systems perspective and to think not just about the
number of staff we need, but what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. We need to think
about what it is that the community needs, what’s the service style of the organization, and
then assess the workload. By thinking about workload demand, we reframe the problem in
terms of getting the community what it needs, and then recruitment and retention become
tools for addressing that. And it’s not just staffing, it’s what things can we do better? How do
we create efficiencies? . . .
“A lot of agencies compare themselves to peer organizations and say, here’s a community
that has a similar size or similar crime rate, so we need to benchmark our staffing based on
them. But that’s a very dangerous proposition . . . because that doesn’t say anything about
the nature of policing or the circumstances or even whether [the other agency] has the right
number of officers.
“Agencies need to come up with the staffing level based on their own workload,
assessment, and performance objectives and not rely so heavily on exterior benchmarks like
other agencies.”
Dr. Wilson and Dr. Alexander Weiss have developed a six-step approach that agencies can adopt
to critically examine their workload demands.42
1. Examine the distribution of calls for service by hour of day, day of week, and month. This
helps agencies determine which parts of the day, and possibly which months of the year, require
more resources.
2. Examine the nature of calls for service. The data collected by a computer-aided dispatch
system (CAD) regarding calls for service may be misleading. (For example, the system could
capture an officer’s meal time as a call.) Scrutiny of this data is necessary to accurately determine
which calls are citizen generated and therefore relevant in estimating staff needs.
3. Estimate the amount of time consumed by calls for service. This estimate should encompass
both the calls themselves and any related administrative tasks. This metric is also helpful for
creating performance standards and apportioning an officer’s time among different tasks.
4. Calculate the agency shift-relief factor. This is the relationship between the maximum number
of days that an officer could work and the number that an officer actually works, considering time
off and other types of leave. Calculating this factor is key to estimating the number of officers
that should be assigned to each shift.
5. Establish performance objectives. Agencies should determine the balance of work during an
officer’s shift, such as the amount of time dedicated to calls for service, to administrative work,
42. Jeremy M. Wilson and Alexander Weiss, “A Performance-Based Approach to Police Staffing and Allocation,” Office
of Community Oriented Policing Services, revised 2014, https://cops.usdoj.gov/ric/Publications/cops-p247-pub.pdf.

and to proactive policing. Historically, one-third of an officer’s time has gone to each of these
activities, but agencies should consider how the amount of time dedicated to each task aligns
with the agency’s priorities and values.
6. Provide staffing estimates. Using the data generated through the above steps, agencies can
create staffing estimates that balance the true workload at their agency along with the available
staff to respond.

Conclusion: Insights & Recommendations
to Help Agency Leaders
The staffing challenges facing law enforcement and wellness and giving officers a larger voice in
agencies reflect some of the same issues affecting the agency, these agencies have discovered ways
other employers, such as a strong job market and to modernize and improve, which also helps them
increasing options for remote work. But they recruit and retain officers.
also reflect issues specific to policing, including The following ten recommendations, which
a negative public image, insufficient diversity, reflect the insights and experiences of law enforce-
significant health and well-being issues, and lack of ment officials described throughout this report,
appeal to younger generations of workers. provide a solid foundation that other agencies can
These issues were already creating problems for follow:
law enforcement agencies in 2019, when PERF pub- 1. Re-examine hiring processes.
lished its previous report on this topic. Since 2019,
the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2. Adopt innovative recruiting strategies.
civil unrest related to police shootings has raised 3. “Go upstream” to identify future officers.
these pre-existing challenges to another level.
4. Update hiring standards.
Not all agencies are facing severe staffing issues.
Many agencies with favorable local conditions, such 5. Offer recruitment incentives.
as good community relations or lower social service 6. Be wary of lateral recruitment.
needs, have not experienced sharp declines in appli-
7. Share burdens to help address understaffing.
cations or increases in retirements and resignations.
For most agencies, however, these higher-level chal- 8. Make greater use of professional staff.
lenges have pushed them toward a breaking point: 9. To boost retention, help officers improve their
officers are leaving faster than they can be replaced well-being.
and the traditional approaches to officer recruit-
ment and retention no longer work. Often, efforts 10. Build community support.
to maintain operations despite understaffing only
make things worse.
Rather than “doing more of what has always
worked in the past” or trying to patch up their
recruitment/retention efforts with one-time finan-
cial incentives or other quick fixes, some agencies
have begun overhauling significant parts of the
organization. By taking steps to address long-
standing issues such as improving officers’ health
Police Executive Research Forum Conclusion — 67

Strengthening Recruitment and
Retention: Examples of Strategies
Discussed in This Report
Recruitment Retention
1. Update hiring standards 1. Strengthen programs to improve officers’

• Reevaluate physical ability test health and wellness
• Revise standards regarding prior substance • Require annual mental health checkup
use • Provide access to department psychologist,
• Offer college tuition reimbursement rather peer support network
than requiring a college degree • Offer financial wellness program
2. Adopt innovative recruiting strategies 2. Improve two-way communication between
• Use targeted ads on social media platforms agency leaders and officers
• Emphasize agency’s service-oriented role in • Conduct employee surveys
recruitment campaigns • Publish agency newsletter
• Strengthen recruiting at women’s colleges, • Enable department members to participate
HBCUs, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions in advisory committees on agency policies,
training, etc.
3. Re-examine hiring processes
• Make application forms shorter and more 3. Create opportunities for officers to grow with
accessible the agency
• Adopt one-stop recruitment assessments • Provide pay increases or other incentives for
• Create mentorship programs to keep recruits furthering education
engaged and supported • Improve career pathways for younger
officers
4. “Go upstream” to identify future officers
• Vary officer assignments
• Cadet programs
• Internship programs 4. Show support from agency leadership and the
• Hire college students as part-time employees community
• Awards program
5. Offer recruitment incentives
• Events for staff
• Salary paid during academy training
• Attendance by local officials at agency events
• Free academy training
• Housing assistance 5. Offer financial incentives
• Retention bonuses
• Improved retirement options
• Increased overtime opportunities
68 — Examples of Strategies Discussed in This Report Police Executive Research Forum

About the Police Executive
Research Forum
The Police Executive Research Forum In addition to conducting research and

(PERF) is an independent research organization publishing reports on our findings, PERF conducts
that focuses on critical issues in policing. Since management studies of individual law enforcement
its founding in 1976, PERF has identified best agencies; educates hundreds of police officials each
practices on fundamental issues such as reducing year in the Senior Management Institute for Police,
police use of force; developing community policing a three-week executive development program; and
and problem-oriented policing; using technologies provides executive search services to governments
to deliver police services to the community; that wish to conduct national searches for their next
and developing and assessing crime reduction police chief.
strategies. All of PERF’s work benefits from PERF’s status
PERF strives to advance professionalism as a membership organization of police officials,
in policing and to improve the delivery of who share information and open their agencies to
police services through the exercise of strong research and study. PERF members also include
national leadership; public debate of police and academics, federal government leaders, and others
criminal justice issues; and research and policy with an interest in policing and criminal justice.
development. All PERF members must have a four-year
The nature of PERF’s work can be seen in college degree and must subscribe to a set of
the reports PERF has published over the years. founding principles, emphasizing the importance of
Most of these reports are available without research and public debate in policing, adherence to
charge online at http://www.policeforum.org/ the Constitution and the highest standards of ethics
free-online-documents. All of the titles in the and integrity, and accountability to the communities
Critical Issues in Policing series can be found that police agencies serve.
on the back cover of this report and on the PERF is governed by a member-elected
PERF website at https://www.policeforum.org/ President and Board of Directors and a Board-
critical-issues-series. appointed Executive Director.
To learn more about PERF, visit www.policeforum.org.
Police Executive Research Forum About the Police Executive Research Forum — 69
About the Motorola Solutions
Foundation
As the charitable and philanthropic arm of grants program supports organizations that offer
Motorola Solutions, the Motorola Solutions first responder programming and technology and
Foundation partners with organizations around the engineering education, and align to our values of
globe to create safer cities and equitable, thriving accountability, innovation, impact, diversity and
communities. We focus on giving back through inclusion. The Foundation is one of the many ways in
strategic grants, employee volunteerism and other which the company lives out its purpose of helping
community investment initiatives. Our strategic people be their best in the moments that matter.
For more information on the Foundation, visit: www.motorolasolutions.com/foundation
70 — About the Motorola Solutions Foundation Police Executive Research Forum

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CRITICAL ISSUES IN POLICING SERIES

Responding to the Staffing Crisis:

Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C. 20036

Copyright © 2023 by Police Executive Research Forum

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

Graphic design by Dave Williams

A Message From Keeping Recruits Engaged and Supported......... 39

Section 1: Understanding Section 3: Officer Retention............ 42

Staffing Crisis Has Several Causes....................... 12 Addressing Long-Standing Issues

Streamlining the Hiring Process.......................... 37

Police agencies face no greater challenge

Police Executive Research Forum A Message From PERF’s Executive Director — 1

2 — A Message From PERF’s Executive Director Police Executive Research Forum

Police Executive Research Forum Executive Summary — 3

An increase in A decline in the A decline in A decline in the

The increased Mandatory A weakening A reduction in

4 — Executive Summary Police Executive Research Forum

Police Executive Research Forum Executive Summary — 5

6 — Executive Summary Police Executive Research Forum

Police Executive Research Forum Executive Summary — 7

Information Gathered for This Report

8 — Executive Summary Police Executive Research Forum

Police Executive Research Forum Executive Summary — 9

In 2019, PERF published a major report titled

Increased Retirements 65% 66%

Figure 5: How did personnel staffing

One of our challenges is that our retirements Decreased Stayed Increased

Major Greg Fried, Fairfax County (VA)

Note: N=263 for sworn personnel, 260 for professional

Career outside of law enforcement 68%

Another law enforcement agency 64%

Relocating for reasons outside of job 22%

Leaving workforce 13%

Private security 11%

6. MissionSquare Research Institute, p. 10.

10. The Daily Reports are available at https://www.policeforum.org/covid-19-response#daily.

Generational differences like these can lead

Police Executive Research Forum Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring — 19

20 — Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring Police Executive Research Forum

How can agencies recruit

Police Executive Research Forum Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring — 21

How can agencies retain more officers of color?

How can agencies recruit and retain more women officers?

22 — Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring Police Executive Research Forum

Police Executive Research Forum Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring — 23

continued from page 20 Recruitment and Training Coordinator Nisse Lee

24 — Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring Police Executive Research Forum

His department is also one of many that

“I go to bartenders and Starbucks baristas

32. 30x30 Initiative, https://30x30initiative.org/.

Police Executive Research Forum Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring — 25

Helping Disadvantaged Candidates “Since we’re able to cast a much, much

26 — Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring Police Executive Research Forum

2018 Questionnaire 2022 Questionnaire

High School Diploma or Equivalent 71%

Associate’s Degree or Equivalent 16%

Percentage of Agencies with Minimum Educational Requirements

Police Executive Research Forum Section 2: Candidate Recruitment and Hiring — 27