North Texas police departments try to attract more applicants, increase officer retention
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - To help build community-police relations, neighborhoods across North Texas are holding National Night Out events.
To help build their teams, police departments are doing what they can to recruit more members.
From a car-dealership-style pitch at Fort Worth police, to a George Strait-inspired melody for Southlake police, police departments across North Texas are getting creative on recruiting officers.
"Obviously in today's social world we want the things that are viewed the most, and that's shared around so that more people see it, that more people can see the benefits, the pay," said Officer Brad Uptmore, public information officer for the Southlake Police Department.
The video was Uptmore's vision.
"We got 40,000 views in 24 hours which is pretty good for a hiring commercial," added Uptmore
However not everyone is a fan—Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn tweeted, 'It's funny but I pray DPD Recruiting leaves the silly staff to other cities.'
"If we keep doing things the same way that things have been done forever we're going to get the same result and that's not what we want," added Uptmore.
Those clicks adding up to actual applications Uptmore said, which is needed after tough battles with retaining and recruiting officers for years, "You have constant retirements, you have people sometimes leaving for the private sector, we're always kind of playing catch up."
To help lure in more interest, they've added a $10,000 bonus to all recruits—new or lateral—from another department.
The new recruits will have to go through training which could take several months before you see them on the streets.
Southlake recruits start at $60,000 per year and, upon academy graduation, get bumped up to $75,000 per year.
DPD officers don't reach $75,000 per year until year five on their step schedule.
FWPD recruits only make $40,000 per year while in the academy and don't reach $75,000 per year until year four under their meet and confer agreement.
Check your police department to learn more about openings.
National Night Out takes place every year. If you are interested in hosting or learning more about these events, contact your local police department.
