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
A 2024 city audit suggested hiring more civilian Police Investigative Service officers; the PD pushed back, saying that PISOs can respond to only 6% of calls on their own
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen says BCSO is on track to reach 95% staffing as drone integration and modern tech help recruit and retain deputies
If the contract is approved by the city council, officers will earn nearly $120,000 in their first year on the job — an almost 13% raise from 2024 and nearly 40% over the previous seven years
Kansas City leaders believe this initiative will help workforce retention in the police and fire departments, and will help fill positions left open by retirees
The Metro Police Authority dedicated five officers to a “task force model” 287(g) agreement; however, the officers were not able to complete the 40 hours of required training
Due to ongoing debt payments to the state, the Harvey City Council declared the city “financially distressed” and furloughed 69 of 167 employees, including first responders
Nearly 4,000 applications have been submitted to Fort Worth PD in 2025; 1,728 of the department’s 1,906 positions are currently filled
The Mobile Police Department improved starting salaries and revised its take-home vehicle policy in order to attract new recruits
The grant provides Flint with $450,000 for police and fire sign-on bonuses, $652,456 for retention bonuses and $95,000 for fire performance bonuses, among other benefits
Jerry O’Donnell has played several cops during his 40-year acting career; now, he aims to become one
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