The Santa Ana Police Department is struggling to fill more than 30 officer vacancies amid a decline in applicants.
The department is not alone, law enforcement agencies across the country are facing staffing shortages in part because of a national reckoning on policing following events such as the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
“In the last couple of years, there’s been a series of national events that have maybe deterred some people from pursuing a career in law enforcement,” said Officer Natalie Garcia, who is part of a new recruiting team in the Santa Ana department.
Also, local departments are now competing with each other for recruits, she said. “And then, at least in the state, we’ve seen a shift in our political climate that has pushed some people to move out of state. Some people are leaving to go out of state for reasons like cost of living.”
In 2022, the Santa Ana City Council approved a $10,000 hiring bonus for each new officer, not to exceed $100,000 in total, and as a result, the department saw a 26% increase in officer applications.
The council agreed this month to continue the bonus program – up to $600,000.
The Police Department will be offering $10,000 per officer, $15,000 for an officer with a bachelor’s degree, $15,000 for an officer who is a military veteran and up to $20,000 for an officer who is a military veteran with a bachelor’s degree. Funds will come from salary savings from the position vacancies.
Aside from offering the monetary incentives, the Police Department’s new recruitment team is focusing on hosting recruiting events and posting on social media.
“We want to make sure that we’re fully staffed to be able to adequately provide services to our community,” Sgt. Maria Lopez, SAPD’s public information officer, said.
“Even though we are to some degree understaffed, our response times are pretty low,” she added. “The communication that goes out to our officers is that…
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