DURHAM, N.C. – The desperate call for new recruits is coming from law enforcement agencies in both our own communities and across the country.
What You Need To Know
- Law enforcement agencies nationwide are struggling to hire new recruits and retain current ones
- There are over 100 vacant positions within the Durham Police Department
- The police chief has created a supplemental patrol to cover staffing issues and keep response times down
The Durham Police Department competes with every other city for officers who can fill vacancies, trying to provide recruits the most enticing job offer.
“One of the good things that we have going on here is our benefit package with the City of Durham is amazing, but a lot of people don't see that,” Lt. Quincey Tait said. “They just see the starting salary and they're like, ‘but I can go over here and make $15,000 more.’”
Tait was a hire who didn’t expect to stay with the department long or make a career out of being an officer, but 13 years later, she loves it more than ever.
“If you want to investigate homicides, you want to investigate narcotics, go undercover, anything you want to do, we literally offer it here,” Tait said.
Durham Police are currently down by over 100 officers, and with the City of Durham constantly growing, Tait said they need every position filled and then some. The shortage has led to increases in call time and the creation of a supplemental patrol force to ensure the community feels as little impact as possible.
“Law enforcement nationwide is suffering,” Tait said. “But our recruiting unit has really done a tremendous job with trying to come up with innovative ways to recruit new officers.”
They’ve made the application process more efficient and transparent and have started recruiting at military bases, career fairs and college campuses. They’re also currently offering up to $13,000 in hiring bonuses.
“Come to the open house, that's one step,” Tait said. “We just need you to do that. Take that first step.”
Once an officer is recruited, retention becomes the other issue. Tait said with the time and money that go into the hours of training each officer receives, they want to see each one stay for 30 years. On top of that, she talks about the good that consistency in a police force does for building relationships in the community.
“The climate has changed, which means the people who are attracted to become police officers are changing as well,” Tait said. “Policing is not the same as it was, how it started or where it was 20, 30 years ago.”
She said the skills needed to be a police officer today go beyond strength and physical fitness. So much of policing now focuses on partnering with the community and getting to know the people they serve.
“At the end of the day, we're not paid big bucks to do this job for the risks that we take,” Tait said. “You enter this field, because you have you have a heart for the people.”