From attracting qualified candidates and telling an authentic agency story to streamlining hiring processes and building long-term career pathways, departments are rethinking how they recruit and retain the next generation of officers. Police Recruitment Week explores how agencies are modernizing recruitment, with practical insights for leaders navigating staffing shortages, community expectations and the realities of building a sustainable workforce.
What the data and the field reveal about where agencies lose candidates and how to keep them
FEATURED CONTENT
A practical, agency-wide framework that turns every sworn and civilian employee into an active recruiting force
Agencies relying on bonuses and short-term tactics may see temporary gains but lasting staffing stability comes from strategies that improve retention, reputation and community trust
A customized childcare model built for law enforcement families aims to improve retention, boost morale and deliver measurable return on investment
Integrating civilians, structured internet sleuth programs, artificial intelligence and regional partnerships may be the key to sustaining clearance rates in the 21st century
Facing staffing shortages and rising complexity, departments like Atlanta are expanding civilian leadership and professional staff roles to stabilize operations, modernize capabilities and relieve pressure on sworn officers
From paperwork to people skills, seasoned cops offer hard-earned advice for the next generation
If you’re losing applicants, stretching hiring timelines or watching academy classes shrink, this guide outlines what agencies are doing to rebuild their staffing pipeline
COMPLETE COVERAGE
Officials hope the project will attract more people to public safety careers and encourage them to stay in Bergen County and Hackensack, County Executive Jim Tedesco said
The Oakley City Council unanimously approved Antioch’s request to periodically use outside police agencies as force multipliers in support of the neighboring police department
Ten Mass. departments have signed onto the 30x30 Initiative, a plan to increase the number of women in each agency to 30% by the year 2030
Recruitment, the opioid epidemic, climate change and mental health challenges are just as significant for police officers now as they were in the heat of the campaign
Houston PD recruits are currently required to purchase their service firearms before joining the academy; they are only reimbursed if and when they are sworn in as officers
State troopers will be responsible for handling any police-related emergency calls in Central City until a decision is made as to the future of the department
“The goal is to call all staff back to the office in order to fully and appropriately assess operational and staffing needs,” Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz stated
Innovative, research-driven strategies are key to hiring and retaining the next generation of police officers
Police1 readers voted Chula Vista PD’s submission the #1 recruitment video of 2024, highlighting service, technology and real-life impact
The lawsuit alleged that MDSP’s physical fitness and written tests were not job-related and disproportionately disqualified women and African American applicants
ABOUT THE SPONSOR: eSOPH by Miller Mendel
With a primary focus of turning past practices used by city, county, state and federal government agencies into modern, efficient, and cost-effective digital solutions, Miller Mendel (MMI) has been creating category-leading systems since 2011.
eSOPH by Miller Mendel is a secure, cloud-based, pre-employment background investigation software system designed specifically for public safety agencies. Used by hundreds of agencies nationwide, eSOPH has been credited with cutting the time it takes to process a pre-employment background investigation by up to 50%, saving agencies significant time, money, and resources without sacrificing investigation quality.
eSOPH by Miller Mendel is a secure, cloud-based, pre-employment background investigation software system designed specifically for public safety agencies. Used by hundreds of agencies nationwide, eSOPH has been credited with cutting the time it takes to process a pre-employment background investigation by up to 50%, saving agencies significant time, money, and resources without sacrificing investigation quality.
How to use recruitment messaging and leverage new technology to attract, hire, onboard and retain top talent