Law enforcement agencies are having difficulty recruiting and retaining sworn officers. The situation is “a crisis for law enforcement,” according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. This local article highlights some of the numbers here in North Carolina. At the time it was written, the Raleigh Police Department was short 150 officers, Winston-Salem was short 20%, and Asheville was short 41%. The Marshall Project offers a contrary view here, arguing that federal jobs data don’t support the concern, but most law enforcement leaders I’ve talked to recently are profoundly worried about staffing, recruitment, and retention. Can the increased use of civilians to do jobs formerly done by sworn personnel be part of the solution? Hiring sworn personnel is arduous. An aspiring new officer must collect and provide detailed information about his or her background to the hiring agency and to the state certifying commission. Prior criminal activity, including drug use, may derail his or her plans. He or she must also successfully complete basic law enforcement training, normally a full-time, four-month class that culminates in a state-mandated examination. The candidate must also pass physical and mental health evaluations. Individual agencies may have additional hiring requirements. The result is that hiring a new officer is arduous, time-consuming, and expensive. Hiring civilian employees is easier. Hiring any employee requires a certain amount of vetting and paperwork. But civilians by definition are not sworn officers, are not required to complete basic law enforcement training, and need not seek state certification. They require [...]
Faculty Coordinators
