In April 2023, more than 50 law enforcement leaders, rank and file officers, and specialists from a wide variety of public safety and human resources organizations met for two days to brainstorm solutions to one of the most critical challenges law enforcement agencies are grappling with today: recruitment and retention of qualified officers.

The two-day Law Enforcement Led Recruitment and Retention Meeting was requested by U.S Attorney General Merrick Garland and hosted by the U.S Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to examine all barriers hiring and keeping good people and consider strategies for overcoming them.

Acknowledging the seriousness of the challenges facing law enforcement, BJA Director Karhlton Moore said that the department is working on building resources and tools that offer potential short-term solutions and long-term strategies for recruitment and retention.

One of these upcoming resources will be the 2023 Law Enforcement Led Recruitment and Retention Meeting Report, which will detail the recommendations, advice, and insights embodied in these wide-ranging discussions, which examined the current state of law enforcement recruitment and retention in areas such as the following:

• Eligibility Standards and Hiring Practices
• Benefits and Incentives
• Modernizing the Academy
• Diversity
• The Role of Local Government
• Federal Support
• Pipeline Programs
• Officer Wellness and Work/Life Balance

Meeting participants looked at issues underlying recruitment and retention challenges, such as law enforcement culture and transparency, community-police trust, generational divides, and the public’s image of the profession, and discussed how all these things may contribute to or exacerbate the current recruitment and retention crisis.

They also discussed private sector partnerships and recruitment tactics used by other professions, as well as successful law enforcement agency programs, which they described in detail to illustrate best practices.

The report, which can be used by law enforcement agencies of all types and sizes as a practical guide to addressing this crisis, will be available late summer or early fall 2023 in the COPS Office Resource Center.

Faye C. Elkins
Sr. Technical Writer
COPS Office

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