MONROE - Police recruitment this year dropped to almost a third of that in 2012 as training costs and police tensions increase nationwide.
Monroe police chief Fred Kelley said the Monroe Police Department has only received 58 applicants this year, compared to the 140 it received in 2012, the last year applications for the department were open.
"It obviously looks significantly worse," Kelley said.
Kelley attributed the decline in recruitment to a combination of two factors: the increased public scrutiny of police in America following a series of high-profile shooting deaths, and the increased financial and time requirements of the police training process.
"It's probably a tough choice to make life-and-death decisions, and to have your own life threatened," Kelley said, referencing the increased public awareness of the risks inherent to law enforcement.
More complicated, however, are the expenditures necessary for police training.
Kelley said police trainees are now required by state law to complete 720 hours of training, a sizable increase to the previous 520-hour requirement.
More importantly, the cost of training has increased from approximately $3,000 to $5,000 per person.
"I'd say about 75 percent of the officers in the state pay for police academy out of pocket," Kelley said.
Few police departments, particularly in rural areas, have the resources to send their trainees to the police academy. "We always look for people who have already had the required training," Kelley explained.
Because of this, the prospect of having to spend $5,000 in order to have a chance of being hired strongly disincentivizes people from applying, Kelley said.
"Especially because, in some cases, if you fail one training module, you may have to redo the entire training," Kelley said. "So if you have to do another 720 hours of training because you couldn't do enough sit-ups in a minute, you might start reconsidering your choice of career."
Kelley said there was not much Monroe police can do to combat the application shortfall. The state imposes the training requirements - "that's not something people want to fight," he said.
And short of the police department receiving a substantial budget increase, paying for applicants' training is not feasible.
However, most of the rhetoric in police circles surrounding the recruitment decline has generally been because of the police's "image problem," Kelley said.
The application shortfall has not yet overly affected police operations, Kelley said.
"We have three openings now, which means our overtime budget has increased by about 25 percent," Kelley said, adding that the positions would probably be filled within the next several months.
However, Kelley said the quality, if not the quantity, of available officers might suffer as a result.
"We want to find the best officers, obviously," Kelley said. "But having a smaller pool makes it harder."
That said, Kelley said officers are still required to take 21 hours of departmental training each year - and that Monroe officers "probably get about 40 hours a year."
"So it's important to remember that our training doesn't stop," Kelley said.
Monroe police chief Fred Kelley said the Monroe Police Department has only received 58 applicants this year, compared to the 140 it received in 2012, the last year applications for the department were open.
"It obviously looks significantly worse," Kelley said.
Kelley attributed the decline in recruitment to a combination of two factors: the increased public scrutiny of police in America following a series of high-profile shooting deaths, and the increased financial and time requirements of the police training process.
"It's probably a tough choice to make life-and-death decisions, and to have your own life threatened," Kelley said, referencing the increased public awareness of the risks inherent to law enforcement.
More complicated, however, are the expenditures necessary for police training.
Kelley said police trainees are now required by state law to complete 720 hours of training, a sizable increase to the previous 520-hour requirement.
More importantly, the cost of training has increased from approximately $3,000 to $5,000 per person.
"I'd say about 75 percent of the officers in the state pay for police academy out of pocket," Kelley said.
Few police departments, particularly in rural areas, have the resources to send their trainees to the police academy. "We always look for people who have already had the required training," Kelley explained.
Because of this, the prospect of having to spend $5,000 in order to have a chance of being hired strongly disincentivizes people from applying, Kelley said.
"Especially because, in some cases, if you fail one training module, you may have to redo the entire training," Kelley said. "So if you have to do another 720 hours of training because you couldn't do enough sit-ups in a minute, you might start reconsidering your choice of career."
Kelley said there was not much Monroe police can do to combat the application shortfall. The state imposes the training requirements - "that's not something people want to fight," he said.
And short of the police department receiving a substantial budget increase, paying for applicants' training is not feasible.
However, most of the rhetoric in police circles surrounding the recruitment decline has generally been because of the police's "image problem," Kelley said.
The application shortfall has not yet overly affected police operations, Kelley said.
"We have three openings now, which means our overtime budget has increased by about 25 percent," Kelley said, adding that the positions would probably be filled within the next several months.
However, Kelley said the quality, if not the quantity, of available officers might suffer as a result.
"We want to find the best officers, obviously," Kelley said. "But having a smaller pool makes it harder."
That said, Kelley said officers are still required to take 21 hours of departmental training each year - and that Monroe officers "probably get about 40 hours a year."
"So it's important to remember that our training doesn't stop," Kelley said.