Delaware is seeing a decline in Law Enforcement recruitment and retention
Recruitment and Retention
DELAWARE – Recent studies show law enforcement jobs were on the decline statewide in Delaware over the last two years. But was that the case in Kent and Sussex Counties? Well, the answer is yes, they’re available. But the question is: are the people applying qualified enough, then there’s a question of, whether there are enough benefits to keep those people here for the long-term?
Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. of the Dover Police Department says his department is stabilized, but it’s at the low end because they’re still trying to recover from the past five years. “Policing in Delaware continues to be under assault as a profession… The idea of officers not staying for a full career and leaving at their first date eligible because of industry conditions, the super heavy level of criticism that the profession has been trying to come to terms with for the last 5 – 10 years.”
Chief Cecilia Ashe of the Milford Police Department says they only have 2 vacancies, and they believe it is because of things like competitive salary and benefits packages, as well as changes they’ve made to recruitment saying quote:
“Since Chief Ashe joined the department in February 2023, we conducted a full examination of our hiring practices. One major area that was changed was the department historically only held application processes twice a year. Now we have open application process year-round. One other area that we struggled was getting the applicants to start the process which requires the applicant to take a physical fitness test and written exam.
Historically we would have low turnout for this testing process. So, we reached out to applicants to ask why? What we discovered was applicants being offered one testing date was the issue. Because the applicants had to work and did not want to have to inconvenience their current employer for the one-day testing process.
We now offer applicant multiple dates both during the week and on weekend with a variety of times, in an attempt to be more accommodating to an applicant’s current personal and work life. These adjustments have proven to be very successful as our current process had over 80 applicants. We expect that our two positions will be filled by the end of this month. ” end quote.
Chief Johnson says there are some changes that local law enforcement agencies have to make in order to stay competitive, and says society has created new barriers, and so recruitment will continue to be a struggle. “Most municipal entities that have had their contracts up for renewal over the last year or two, have given their officers substantial raises, more than what you would’ve’ seen in past generations on a typical contract year… There’s a lot of challenges before you even get to do you want to do this or not. and so I’m saying 3 out of 4 people can’t do this for whatever reason before we even get to the idea of do you want to do this.”
Chief Johnson said some of those societal challenges include prescription drug use or mental health issues, two things that could stop someone from being qualified to serve, and things like this narrow the applicant pool overall. The Delaware Groundbreaking Initiative to Revolutionize Law Enforcement Hiring seminar with take place October 9 online to discuss innovative initiatives to revolutionize law enforcement recruitment. If you or anyone you know is interested in coming to the Dover Police Department just visit their website.
