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Pay incentives bolstering ranks in some California police departments

Alameda Police Shield
Thomas Hawk
/
Flickr / Creative Commons
Alameda Police Shield

Just five months ago, Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi faced a dire staffing crisis. Almost one-third of the 88 sworn positions in his department were vacant, giving him 24 jobs to fill as quickly as possible.

CalMatters reports Joshi wasn't alone in that predicament. Many California police departments have reported serious hiring challenges in a persistently tight labor market over the past several years.

But Joshi's city council in April gave him something exceptional to lure candidates to Alameda: a $75,000 enlistment bonus in addition to regular pay that starts at $110,000 a year.

It's working.

After receiving 170 applications from all over the country, the Alameda Police Department now has enough officers enrolled in academies to bring its projected total vacancies down to 10 by early next year. Joshi credits the bonuses, in part, for attracting applicants to a city with an expensive cost of living.

Alameda's high dollar bonuses are an attention-grabbing example of the fierce competition among California law enforcement agencies trying to replenish the ranks of officers who retired or changed careers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.