By Lieutenant Clint Sinclair
In July 2024, our department was staring down a staffing crisis. Our sworn-position vacancies hovered between 45 and 49 openings in a department with an authorized strength of 193. Patrol shifts operated at or below minimum staffing levels, specialty units sat empty, supervisory positions remained open, promotions were delayed for valuable department leaders, and overtime costs ballooned with every pay cycle. The situation wasn’t unique. Agencies nationwide were facing similar struggles, but it was clear something had to change.
Fast-forward one year. In June 2025, our chief asked city leadership to authorize over-hiring beyond our budgeted strength. Our vacancy number had dropped as low as five. Patrol shift staffing had risen by 27% compared to the previous summer, more specialized assignments had been filled, and overtime demands were finally declining. The turnaround didn’t happen overnight, nor was it the product of a single initiative. It was the result of an intentional, department-wide reorganization and a renewed investment in applicants to our profession.
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Bringing key functions under one bureau
In December 2023, our assistant chief was appointed as the new chief of police following the previous chief’s retirement. Among her first major steps was an organizational realignment. She established a Professional Standards Bureau, bringing together functions that had long operated in silos: Training and Recruiting, Internal Affairs, Policy and Accreditation, and the Public Information Office.
This structural change did more than improve communication; it allowed the department to think holistically about professionalism, accountability and development. Aligning these units within a single bureau was as much about philosophy as it was about organization. Outside of hiring and recruiting, most personnel issues boil down to one of three areas: policy, training or discipline. When these functions are separated, agencies lose the ability to close the loop between decision-making, improvement and professional growth. Housing all three together ensures faster feedback, more consistent outcomes and greater legitimacy in both process and result. In practice, when an Internal Affairs investigation results in a disposition of remedial training, the IA supervisor can immediately coordinate with the Training Unit to identify appropriate content and scope. Policy concerns are addressed through regular bureau meetings with the Policy and Accreditation Manager, while operational adjustments move through a single chain of command.
In the context of recruiting and hiring, our realignment created an opportunity to prepare a field training-ready officer beginning the day an employment application was submitted. Recognizing that opportunity, discussions turned toward one of the most significant investments in recent department history: launching an in-house basic training academy.
Building an academy around department expectations
For years, the department had contracted with a regional academy to train all new hires. The regional academy utilized some full-time staff but relied heavily on adjunct and one-off instruction for the majority of topics. Consistency became a concern. It was unlikely that any two academy classes would have the same instructors delivering the same content in the same manner. For us, it meant uncertainty about what tactics, attitudes, skills and knowledge any group of new recruits would bring with them, not only to our field training program but also to the culture of our department. Reports from our recruits in the program indicated that recruiting trips from other agencies included, intentionally or otherwise, disparaging remarks about our department and others in the area.
Our department had no control or say in the way our officers were being trained. Progress and performance could not be reviewed, tracked and remediated if necessary. After graduation, our new officers would complete an additional two to four weeks of department-specific training covering tactics, tools, and community-specific and department-specific procedures. While effective in some respects, the model meant recruits were learning generic policing first and our values second.
By mid-2024, the department was ready to change that narrative. We partnered with a nearby university that already operated two part-time academies and proposed a full-time academy exclusively for our agency. The goal was clear: to train new officers from day one in the culture, expectations and mission of our community.
Beyond meeting state-mandated basic academy requirements, our department intentionally chose to exceed minimum standards. Recruits now receive instruction in additional areas such as TASER 10, ICAT, patrol rifle, financial literacy and trauma in law enforcement, among others, resulting in more than 200 training hours beyond the state minimum. Our spring academy class is set to exceed the minimum by more than 300 hours. After completing multiple academy classes under this model, early feedback from field training officers indicates preliminary mission success. Recruits are showing up to field training with a noticeably higher level of readiness to police and serve within our community.
Making the academy sustainable
Establishing an in-house academy required expanding the existing training unit to include full-time police instructors. Not large enough to maintain a dedicated training staff, we had relied on instructorships as collateral-duty assignments, drawing from the ranks and utilizing outside instructors when needed. For our new academy, the department was fortunate to draw from recently retired members eager to return in teaching roles. In addition to their combined decades of experience, these instructors bring institutional knowledge, an understanding of departmental policy and procedure, and firsthand perspectives drawn from investigations, critical incidents and meaningful community interactions.
Instruction is still supplemented by subject-matter experts from within the department, ensuring recruits are taught by detectives, field training officers, supervisors and leaders they will work alongside throughout their careers. We found significant training value in presenting our agency’s cases, tactics, methods and debriefs through the personnel directly involved. This has become particularly beneficial as we have begun to incorporate problem-based learning into our academy setting. Following a critical incident or other significant police action, department leaders can speak directly to recruits to provide context and answer questions. This serves as another step in establishing the culture and expectations of our department while teaching from the successes and failures of our actions.
The transition from outsourced recruit training to homegrown professionals was not without challenges. While the content was set by the state’s basic academy curriculum and supported by our partnership with the local university, infrastructure was a critical component of the success of our endeavor. This expansion meant uniforms, vehicles for the emergency vehicle operations course, computers for our records management system and other department-specific software, and a physical location for academic, physical and practical training.
We received overwhelming support from city leadership and were able to utilize existing buildings and space with relatively minor upgrades and remodels. Infusing values and teaching the level of policing worthy of our community did not require shiny, new multimillion-dollar buildings or state-of-the-art equipment. It would have been easy to decide that success required a new facility, dedicated training campus or significant capital investment from the community. We resisted the temptation. Leadership made a conscious decision to focus resources on people and instruction as the foundation for our academy infrastructure. This wasn’t about money or optics; it was about priorities. We simply needed dedicated, knowledgeable professionals willing to lead future generations of police officers and a space to do it. The result produced not only training space for our academy but also additional space for department-wide training.
Another challenge was our underestimation of instructor fatigue and the balance between primary-duty assignment responsibilities and academy needs. One example is our defensive tactics program, led entirely by members of our Criminal Investigation Division, most of whom are also members of our part-time SWAT team. While the academy schedule is flexible, a significant investigation or critical incident requiring SWAT activation can essentially eliminate the availability of specialized instructors. As we have moved forward, we have begun to expand the number of qualified instructors to reduce reliance on any one individual or a few individuals and units within the department.
Each academy class concludes with a debrief, similar to those conducted after critical incidents or special operations. Academy staff, department instructors and members of command staff meet to provide feedback, identify what to sustain and improve, and prepare for the next class. This step has been vital to the sustainability of our program and makes every academy stronger and more effective than the last.
Rethinking the hiring process
Standing up an academy was only part of the equation. At the same time, the department conducted a review of its hiring process. Some of the most effective changes turned out to be the simplest.
We reevaluated the written test’s passing threshold, rewrote interview questions to reflect the skills and experiences of the next generation of officers, and focused more deeply on the background investigation stage to assess candidates as whole people. For years, hiring conversations have focused on generational differences between historical applicants to the policing profession and the incoming workforce. However, these conversations rarely resulted in meaningful action. Hundreds of applicants are no longer lining up to fill a handful of open positions, as was once the case. As much as our department would like to return to that era of applicant numbers, it is unlikely to happen. The conversation changed from “What’s wrong with the applicant pool?” to “How can we adjust internally to meet the needs of both our community and prospective employees?”
Many applicants today have never been in a physical altercation, wrestled with an ethical dilemma or brought with them the life experience once expected of those seeking a career in our profession. This is not a judgment on younger generations, nor does it indicate diminished potential. It is the product of societal shifts surrounding conflict, adversity and accountability. Rather than turn away this group of candidates, we shifted to an acknowledgment and mindset that it was our responsibility to bridge the gaps between the expectations of the profession and new generational norms. Our training must now include intentional preparation of new officers for the realities of the job.
These shifts did not lower standards; they refocused them. The goal was not to find candidates who could simply score well on tests, but those who could thrive in service, embody our department’s values and connect authentically with the community they would protect. A quote from former Porsche CEO Peter Schutz flows throughout our recruiting, hiring and onboarding process: “Hire character, train skill.” As educational requirements for law enforcement have changed over the last two decades, our academy partnership with a local university adds more value because recruits receive college credit while completing the basic police academy. This benefit can jump-start the educational goals of new officers or help some complete college degrees. At the end of the day, personnel account for the majority of any agency’s budget. Investing those funds in the right people, at the right time, can change the course of a department for years to come.
In the face of staffing shortages, agencies across the country began offering hiring or recruitment bonuses. Debate has centered on the feasibility and sustainability of monetary incentives for hiring. Agencies in our area continue to offer bonuses for POST-certified and non-POST-certified candidates, tempting a few away from our own department. While our city did not jump on the bonus bandwagon, our officer and sergeant unions were able to work collaboratively with the city to establish a Lateral Pay Plan, rewarding prior service with increased starting pay for up to 10 years of civilian or military experience. As a result, we have seen a steady flow of POST-certified or otherwise licensed officers entering our hiring process, both from within and outside the state.
Our recruitment strategy also broke from convention. Rather than relying on classic job fairs and “typical” recruiting events, we shifted our focus to targeted, geofenced social media advertising and perhaps the strongest recruiting tool on our belts: word of mouth.
We found little success in setting up tables, handing out swag and hoping for interest. Our most successful recruits came instead through personal connections, friends, family members and colleagues who could speak genuinely about our department’s culture and purpose. We take particular pride in seeing the next generation follow in those footsteps. Today, our department even employs a mother, father and son, a reflection of the pride and trust our organization has built over time. This people-first approach reinforced our belief that effective recruitment doesn’t begin with promotional materials; it begins with authentic relationships.
In addition to bringing retired department personnel back as academy instructors, the department was equally intentional in filling the role of police recruiter. This position is critical, as the recruiter is often a candidate’s first meaningful contact with both the department and the city and frequently sets the tone for the hiring process.
In the past, recruiting was an informal, collateral-duty assignment, with officers selected to attend various events based on availability or personal connections to the college, high school or geographic region. While the idea that everyone is a recruiter is as important as ever, the staffing problem faced by our department required full-time attention. Beyond scheduling appointments, setting deadlines and organizing application materials, our recruiter serves as a consistent guide through what can be a lengthy and intimidating process. Applicants receive regular communication and clear expectations about professionalism throughout the process, including how to dress, prepare and communicate within our department. Just as importantly, the recruiter functions as a gatekeeper for the organization, instilling and reinforcing department values early, identifying “bad fits” for the department and ensuring qualified candidates advance.
Our department was fortunate to fill this role with a recently retired sergeant who served in a variety of assignments throughout their career. That experience, coupled with established credibility and institutional knowledge, has allowed the recruiter to build structured, trust-based relationships with applicants while maintaining engagement, humanizing the hiring process and upholding our high standards of professionalism from the start.
Measuring progress and continuing to improve
As with any aspect of our profession, complacency kills. Our hiring process, interview questions, academy schedule and topics are constantly being reviewed, evaluated and adjusted. The substantial steps taken by our department represent more than a single solution.
After several iterations of the academy and the continued momentum of the Professional Standards Bureau, the impact speaks for itself: higher applicant retention through the hiring pipeline, improved morale, fuller shifts and a renewed sense of direction within the department.
Today, we have started our fourth academy class and have graduated 35 new officers over the course of the first three classes, with a graduation rate of 92%. Of those completing our academy, 94% have successfully completed our field training program. The percentage of applicants reaching the interview stage of our process increased from 32% in 2024 to 57% in 2025. Our vacancies have fluctuated with retirements and promotions but have leveled out at a more manageable rate of around 6%.
Not every department has the capability to stand up a basic training academy. For ours, the academy was only part of a broader change. What began as a crisis of vacancies has evolved into a culture of growth and ownership, proof that sustainable staffing solutions require more than recruitment slogans, bonuses and hype. They demand leadership, collaboration and the courage to reimagine how policing looks from the inside out.
About the author
Clint Sinclair is a lieutenant in the Columbia (Missouri) Police Department’s Patrol Bureau. He has been with the department for 16 years. He served as the Professional Standards Lieutenant when the Professional Standards Bureau was created and through the first several academy classes.
He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police and holds a law degree from the University of Missouri–Columbia School of Law. He is also a State of Missouri-recognized subject-matter expert in crime prevention and community policing.
