Fresno is voting Thursday to offer incentives to attract and recruit qualified police officers.
“The lack of qualified candidates, along with our Police Department’s higher employment standards, makes it difficult to recruit or attract new hires at a time when cities are competing against each other to retain and attract the best candidates,” said City Manager Bruce Rudd.
The City Manager’s Office, and Council Members Lee Brand and Steve Brandau are co-sponsoring a proposal to deal with attrition.
“We can’t hire the people quick enough, and in my opinion, there’s a critical need out there because back in 2004 and 2005 when we had 849 police officers out, there we had a population that was 50,000 less. – Lee Brand, City Council Member
Lateral hires would see 40 hours of vacation leave and 40 hours of sick leave upon hire and payments of $2,500 each upon hire and commencement of work with Fresno PD, completion of the Police Department’s field training program, successful completion of the probationary period, and one year of service following the completion of the probationary period.
Current Fresno Police Officers who refer a qualified lateral hire will receive $250 at each of the steps noted above for a lateral hire for a total of $1,000 per lateral hire.
The side letter is effective through June 30, 2016, but can be renewed upon mutual agreement.
Councilmember Steve Brandau said, “Improving hiring incentives is the only way we can attract and recruit qualified officers. These incentives will help put Fresno Police on a path of success”.
City Council will vote on the proposal, Thursday, July 30th.
