MADISON, Wis. — Small police departments struggling to recruit new officers could get help covering the cost of training under a bipartisan bill in the state Legislature.
With fewer applicants and increased retirements, 81% of Midwestern law enforcement agencies say it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find new officers, according to a survey last year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Earlier this year, a western Wisconsin police department was left without officers after all five of its officers resigned within a matter of months.
Watch: Bill would pay training costs at small police departments struggling to recruit
“Hiring’s a problem no matter the size of the agency, but it’s amplified with the smaller departments,” Democratic Rep. Clinton Anderson said.
Anderson is one of the lawmakers reviving a bill that would create a state-funded grant program to cover the costs of training recruits at departments with fewer than 25 full-time officers.
He first learned about the issue from former Green County Sheriff Jeff Skatrud, who retired last year after more than 40 years in law enforcement. Skatrud said that over the last few years of his career, it wasn’t uncommon to have 10-15 vacancies across his roughly 70-person department, which included dispatchers, officers and support staff.
“It’s a challenge because you still have to fill those seats,” Skatrud said. “[Officers] get tired of that. It just wears. It's a constant, constant thing that gnaws at you."
The proposed grant program would cover the costs of academy training and on-the-job training for a new recruit if their department has an officer retiring within six months or has more than 20% of their officer positions unfilled.
Republican Sen. Jesse James, a former police chief and current part-time officer at a rural police department, says those costs can add up.
“You’re paying a salary during the academy process. You’re paying for the academy itself. And then you’re also paying the six months – usually it’s about 400 hours – of field training,” he said. “And then if the officer doesn’t make it through the field training, they’re gone.”
Under the bill, recruits would be required to commit to one year of service at the law enforcement agency that hired them.
“It's not a solve-all, by any means. I know that. But it certainly would help tremendously,” Skatrud said.
The bill’s sponsors are seeking $4 million in the upcoming state budget to fund a pilot program.
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