BOISE, Idaho —
This day and age, fewer people meet the strict hiring standards to become a cop. Around the country, departments are changing their standards so they can get more applicants.
Canyon County is now considering candidates who have used marijuana between one and three years ago, just not in the last year. They are also interviewing 18 year olds to work in the jail; previously, people had to be 21.
“When our citizens call 911, they have an expectation of service,” said Canyon County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Lieutenant Martin Flores who oversees the county jail. “They don't know just how short we're running or that they don't know the daily operations. All they know is that when they call 911, and they need somebody there, the expectation is somebody's coming. If things continue the way they are, that might be the day where we just don't have anybody to send to that incident.”
Boise police, meanwhile, changed its qualifications this summer and got rid of its associate degree requirement. Now, officers only need a high school diploma or GED, which is what all other agencies in the valley require.
“If this place doesn't exist, where do these people go? They're back out on the streets. They're committing crime, they’re back reoffending doing the things they were doing that brought them here to begin with,” Flores said.
Some law enforcement leaders say changing and lowering certain standards can be a double-edged sword and lead to more problems in the profession. They do not see it as a solution to resolve the cop shortage. However, other potential solutions do exist.
“This should be the focus of really every politician. What are we going to do to solve this problem? Those calls are gonna go higher, response times are gonna go lower,” said CCSO Sheriff Kieran Donahue.
Morgan Romero: What does that mean for Idahoans' quality of life?
“I think it goes down, I see that already,” Donahue said.
Some law enforcement agencies in the US offer hiring bonuses to new officers, including Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC), to try to fill their ranks. Several agencies, like CCSO, offer current employees pay incentives.
This past year, CCSO got county commissioners to pass a 10% mid-year raise for detention staff.
However, multiple local sheriffs interviewed for this series say it is not enough.
“What's is it going to take to keep our qualified personnel working right here?” Donahue asked. “What kind of salary base is it going to take to recruit good, qualified candidates into our agency? That's what we need to focus on. So, laser, laser focus. And if we're not doing that, we're going to continue to be the training ground, which we've been for years. We invest the taxpayer's money into hiring them, training them, putting into years and years of expensive training and knowledge to see them walk out the door and we start over again, that's stupid business.”
It is not just on the backs of county and city leaders. Sheriffs are calling on legislators and the governor to pump more state money into this problem. For counties specifically, they want a local sales option tax passed and counties given more freedom with property tax revenue.
Meridian Police Officer Courtney Dozier recently transferred from Caldwell Police Department (CPD).
Romero: Did pay make a difference?
“Yes, it did. I tell people pay isn't everything, but it does help,” Dozier said.
“If you can be competitive, pay, have a good benefits package, and you're comparable to those surrounding you, then applicants start to look at other things. They're not just hyper focused on pay, or this, they start to look at fit,” said Meridian Police Department (MPD) Captain Scott Colaianni.
“Our wages are good; we can make a good living. The city, they do listen to us,” said Nampa Chief Joe Huff. “We can give them our list of our needs versus our wants and they're going to try to fill our needs for us.”
Local law enforcement agencies are creating more engaging recruiting messages online. Recruiters and law enforcement leaders stress the importance of having a positive, inviting, healthy culture where people are given opportunities.
“We provide the best working environment, it's still a job, but we provide the best environment that we can for somebody to come here,” Huff said.
“We're constantly making sure and checking the pulse that we're not losing sight of what's important. There's more to this job than just being a cop,” Colaianni said.
CPD’s new chief Rex Ingram said they are experiencing a staffing crisis.
“Ultimately, its the community that gets affected by this,” Ingram said. “So, I’m looking at deployment, at changing our structure of how we deploy officers to really maximize our economy of forces and change the way we operate internally to max our effectiveness with the community.”
Ingram made a push to improve the department’s culture and hire a more diverse staff to better represent those they protect and serve, and to build trust.
“We owe it to the community to give them a voice,” Ingram said. “We have a 36% Hispanic population in Caldwell, but our workforce doesn’t mirror that community. And one of the ways that we reduce crime in LEA is when we mirror the community and hire from, and we are the community.
“I went on La Grande Radio Station last week and spoke to the Hispanic community on radio and really hopefully reaffirmed they can trust us, and we want them to be part of our department,” Ingram said.
Recruiters also stress the importance of proactive community policing and building relationships. They say school resource officers, youth academies, and events with the community help bridge the gap. Research shows solid training in conflict resolution and de-escalation skills helps improve community policing and, in turn, public attitudes and recruitment.
“When you actually sit down and talk to an officer who's in uniform, past, present, or wanting to become that, then you get to understand the job. We grew up not liking law enforcement, but here I am today,” Dozier said.
Romero: What are the solutions that you see at the county level and the local city police agency?
“I think part of it is community and involvement. I mean, people need to be transparent about who you are as a police department,” Huff said. “That's important that you start people out young. I think we need to go a little bit old school on that. It's not as cool as it used to be to, you know, to want to be a police officer.”
Law enforcement officers feel Idahoans and elected officials overwhelmingly support them, making the career more appealing.
“We have so much community support, it's amazing,” Colianni said. “Making the career more appealing here.”
“The community is actually like putting signs up in the front of the department saying ‘we support you’ or ‘thank you’ or they're dropping off cookies and cupcakes,” said Nampa police officer Erika Jardine.
That support from the community, investment in community policing, and a commitment to fair pay could not only help agencies cope with the cop shortage, but potentially help resolve it.
“It's been tough to be a police officer in this country, and we recognize that, and we have to make them understand that despite what you hear and read,” said Colaianni. “This is still an amazing job to do if your heart lies in it. Has it changed? Sure. Is there a lot expected of a police officer, sure, that's okay. We need to hold ourselves accountable and make sure we're doing our job the way it should be done.”
Studies show when dealing with workload demand, it is not just about the number of officers, but also what they do and how they do it.
Caldwell’s police chief Ingram mentioned another solution he is working on, increasing efficiency to offset staffing shortages.
Departments, including Meridian and Boise police, using different systems, like crisis intervention teams to respond to certain calls, can ease the burden on patrol officers.
Because the sheriffs want more state resources to solve the shortage, KTVB reached out to the governor’s office to see if Brad Little plans to spend state money on the issue.
Little’s press secretary Madison Hardy said Governor Little strongly supports law enforcement, recognizes these problems, and is committed to working with the legislature and local governments next session to invest in public safety.
Little increased financial support for local governments for this year and next year, directed millions to help with local public safety salaries in 2020, and took steps to increase wages and support for Idaho State Police. Hardy also said the state division of human resources is looking at bringing up a sweeping change in compensation for state workers next session.
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