PLEA has been told that the Department has hired approximately 300 new officers in the last year. Great news, right? The problem? 291 left the department in the same time frame leaving us with a net gain of nine officers.
Add to this that recent numbers obtained by PLEA show that 644 rank and file officers and detectives can retire right now if they choose to do so. That number jumps to 955 if we include all eligible members within the supervisor ranks. We have also been told that funds for PD recruitment have been cut to the point that recruiters can no longer afford to go on out of state recruiting trips.
We would like to thank the City Council and City Manager once again for flying the PPD personnel plane right into the ground after a conscious decision was made to not hire for six plus years.
At this rate it will probably take well over a decade to get out of this hole.