(Updated 7:10 p.m.) The Arlington County Police Department is pouring more time and people into recruiting officers in an effort to outpace attrition.
For the past four years the number of “functional staff” at ACPD has been in decline. That includes sworn officers and higher-up positions but excludes those on light duty for medical reasons as well as those in training.
This has forced the department to cut back certain services and rely on current officers to cover empty shifts. To turn the tide, ACPD has changed its pay scale to better reward officers based on their experience and is upping its focus on recruitment.
Recruitment efforts, particularly those focused on recent graduates, are starting to bear fruit, according to ACPD. Still, these changes have to counteract high departure rates, largely driven by experienced officers retiring or seeking better-paying law enforcement jobs.
“While we have been successful in hiring larger classes of recruit officers in recent years, this has not offset the number of departures due to attrition, retirements and officers seeking other opportunities,” ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow.
ACPD is authorized to have 377 officers but its “functional staffing” currently sits at 284, slightly higher than the 275 reported earlier this year. Another 28 positions are either unfilled or filled with officers in training or on light duty.
As for those slated to join the ranks, two officers — with and without law enforcement experience — have been hired and are waiting to go to the regional police academy. (Update at 7:10 p.m.: After publication, multiple police sources said the number provided by FOIA, 30, was incorrect and the actual number was two.)
Another 37 have applied and could accept an offer once extended, according to data obtained by ARLnow following a Freedom of Information Act request.
ARLnow was billed $75 for the FOIA response.
Officers in training would replace the 24 who retired, resigned or were fired this calendar year. Still, sources within the department say nearly a half-dozen more departures are imminent, and the total could be higher by December. Departure totals for 2022 and 2021 were 53 and 50, respectively.
This year, the intensified focus on recruitment may cancel out attrition rates, but ACPD has a long road to the 377 officers it is authorized to have. Even this number falls below consultant recommendations from a 2017 report, provided to ARLnow, which said the department should have 405 officers.
An evergreen report
Six years ago, a consultant found ACPD faced staffing shortages, particularly among patrol officers who are the first to respond to calls for service. It also highlighted concerns from officers about other local and federal agencies offering better pay and career advancement opportunities.
Four years later, in 2021, ACPD would cite these same reasons when explaining its shrinking force.
At the time, the patrol section had 164 employees and ACPD had an authorized strength of 367. Today, it is authorized for 10 more, yet the report recommended add 38, for an authorized strength of 405.
Savage said she could not share the number of patrol officers today, as that is sensitive tactical information. One publicly available number comes from the 2024 budget, which has 178 budgeted patrol officer positions.
For Randall Mason, the leader of the local police union, not much has changed since the 2017 report.
“By looking at the budgets each year, and how many sworn police we’re even authorized for, that report wasn’t taken seriously at all,” he said. “This year, they froze additional positions to pay for the raises we got through arbitration. I think we’re 50 less with the frozen positions than what the 2017 report said we should be at.”