Chris Grill

LEPSL 500
Module 4 Assignment
Recruitment and Retention
06/01/2022

Professor Colon
 Borough of Quakertown
Police Department

To: Chief Scott McElree

From: Sgt. Chris Grill

Date: June 1st, 2022

Subject: CONFIDENTIAL – Recruitment and Retention

In recent years, law enforcement has had to face several important issues. One of those

issues that continues to top the list is recruitment and retention. Over the last few years, both

nationally and locally, departments have struggled to attract highly qualified candidates to fill

the position of a police officer. A driving factor for this issue is the events of 2020 and 2021,

like the Covid-19 pandemic, George Floyd protests, and negative media attention. Those same

events have also caused current police officers to leave the law enforcement profession at an

alarming rate. As a department, it is imperative that we analyze our current strategies and

modify or adopt new ways to recruit new officers and retain the ones we have.

No matter the department's size, having a highly trained and competent staff is

essential to providing effective policing techniques and maintaining community relations. As

leaders of the department, we are responsible for hiring, mentoring, and guiding future leaders

that represent the core values of the agency and members of the community. Several barriers

hinder the selection of qualified persons, like the length of the process, reliance on selection
criteria and screening processes that impact individuals from underrepresented communities,

and background checks that rule out candidates who are otherwise qualified based on minor

drug-related offenses. (Promising Practices on Recruitment and Hiring, 2020)

In an effort to improve our recruitment numbers, there are several initiatives that our

department can do that would not be costly and aid in locating qualified candidates. Every

officer in the department needs to become a recruiter. Gordon Graham states, “While cops are

on duty, as part of their job, they need to recruit.” (Perry, 2020) Contact with people is an

inherent part of being a police officer, and officers should promote the department during their

interactions.

Having the right people in charge of the recruitment division is vital to the success of our

goal of having highly qualified individuals. Officers within the recruitment division need to

communicate effectively while assisting the recruits with navigating the selection process. To

keep recruits engaged throughout the process, the recruitment officers should have constant

contact with them. A behavioral insight team working in Los Angeles saw a 15% increase in the

number of applicants that completed the process after receiving text messages. (6 strategies to

recruit a stronger and more diverse police force, 2019)

Another low-cost strategy for recruitment is developing and leveraging partnerships

with stakeholders, community organizations, and utilizing different media outlets. To further

develop relationships in the community, the department should partner with local schools and

universities to give students a chance to interact with law enforcement. The department must

be the one telling our story and utilize it as an opportunity to market and promote the police

department.
 Police departments nationwide have seen an increase in officers leaving their agencies

for a different one or leaving the profession altogether. As police officers leave, there is a void

in the amount of experience and knowledge they possess. To stay in front of the retention

issue, we need to address it before there are not enough experienced officers to help develop

the new officers. There was a sharp increase in resignations across the country. A PERF survey

showed a 42.7% increase in resignations from 2019 to 2021. (PERF survey shows steady staffing

decrease over the past two years, 2022) The same study shows that retirements have also

increased, with a 23.6% increase from 2019 to 2021.

For the department to retain our experienced officers, the organization's leaders may

have to utilize strategies that will incur costs. The most frequently cited reason by police

executives why officers leave is their salary. (Orrick, 2007) The department must offer

comparable compensation packages that include benefits beyond salary like insurance, time

off, retirement, and better schedules.

Being a smaller department, officers have difficulty growing in their careers. The

department can provide better opportunities for officers to be promoted or obtain a specialty

position to provide job satisfaction. By increasing employee engagement, the department can

obtain more buy-in by receiving input and feedback from the officers. On top of officers

wanting to be heard, they want recognition for quality work. Making a section on the

department website for the public to recognize an officer or a system where other officers and

supervisors can acknowledge the quality work that an officer performed is a low-cost strategy.

While it is of utmost importance that the department retains experienced officers, the

department should petition to have the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP)
extended. The department may add two years to the DROP to keep our most experienced

officers by working with state and local government officials. This strategy will allow the

department to plan and analyze the needs in the upcoming years.

As a department, we must work as a team to overcome recruitment and retention

issues. By employing some simple strategies, we can increase our likelihood of identifying

quality candidates, which will help us retain experienced and knowledgeable officers now and

in the future.
 Works Cited
6 strategies to recruit a stronger and more diverse police force. (2019, February 13th). Retrieved
from Bloomsburg Cities: https://bloombergcities.medium.com/6-strategies-to-recruit-a-
stronger-and-more-diverse-police-force-51f434b2b01f

Orrick, D. (2007, January 1st). Recruitment, Retention, and Turnover in Law Enforcement.
Retrieved from IACP: https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/2018-08/BP-
Recruitment.pdf

PERF survey shows steady staffing decrease over the past two years. (2022). Retrieved from
Police Executive Research Forum: https://www.policeforum.org/workforcemarch2022

Perry, N. (2020, March 10th). 6 key steps to improve police recruitment and retention. Retrieved
from Police1: https://www.police1.com/police-recruiting/articles/6-key-steps-to-
improve-police-recruitment-and-retention-vhuBrcwgr9gjbLwE/

Promising Practices on Recruitment and Hiring. (2020, September). Retrieved from Community
Policing Dispatch: https://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/09-2020/hiring.html