By Police1 Staff
SAN ANTONIO — Armed with a strong pension plan and signing bonuses for veteran officers, the San Antonio Police Department is targeting Dallas cops as their new recruits.
Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata told Fox 4 News that he believes between 20 and 30 Dallas officers will join the San Antonio department after attending the recruiting event in Dallas that took place on Monday and Tuesday.
Dallas has struggled retaining officers and recruiting new ones as the pension system heads toward insolvency. According to the Dallas Morning News, the combination of unsustainable benefits and overvalued, underperforming investments have put the police and fire pensions on track to collapse in 10 years. The department is currently lacking 400 officers.
San Antonio PD says the pension is 90 percent funded, and they’re promising recruits a $7,500 signing bonus for eligible officers and a housing credit for those who buy a home within the city limits, Fox 4 reported.
San Antonio Lt. Steven Trujilio said the department is “simply being aggressive trying to hire the best.”
“They are qualified and they are experienced,” Trujillo said. “Those are some of the things that the city of San Antonio Police Department is looking for.”
Mata said the Dallas officers looking into other options are “looking out for what’s best for them and their future.”
“I don’t think anybody can look bad at them for that.”