DAYTON, Ohio — With a recruit class ready to start later this month, the city of Dayton is already recruiting for its next round of officers.
The Dayton Police Department, led by Chief Kamran Afzal, intends to bring in at least 20 recruits for the class.
In their statement, the city boasted a “great geographic location, extremely reasonable cost of living, a booming arts and entertainment scene, and extraordinary outdoor recreation opportunities,” as attractive qualities for becoming a Dayton police officer.
It also lists “competitive salary and benefits” for officers.
Recruits receive $764 a week. Once they complete the police academy, an officer starts at $61,318.40 per year.
Those interested can apply until Thursday, June 1. The class will run from March 2024 to Oct. 2024.
“One thing I love about being a Dayton police officer is that I get to work in a diverse city alongside some great police professionals in a department big enough to have many opportunities beyond patrol,” said Major James Mullins.
Recruiting and officer retention have been difficult for police departments across the country in recent years.
While there are several factors that may be at play, Mullins feels one of the biggest issues locally has been a general reduction in workforce numbers across all fields.
“With the pool of applicants shrinking and more agencies looking for new hires, it has become more challenging to get qualified candidates,” he added.
Those numbers are compounded by the fact Dayton had 39 officer retirements or resignations in 2022, much higher than previous years, Mullins said. He noted that the normal had hovered around 18 for “many years” before then.
The Dayton Police Department currently has 352 officers. By the end of the month, it’s going to lose another four officers, Mullins said.
Looking ahead, there are 29 current DPD officers who are retirement eligible, Mullins said. However, some of those officers could be enrolled in the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Funds’ Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP). That means they can work for up to eight years to receive additional compensation from the pension fund.
“It is challenging to know the exact number of upcoming retirements because some officers have prior government or military work history, which allows them to enter the DROP program or retire earlier than our data shows,” Mullins said.
DPD has funding to support an average of 365 officers on staff.
Mullins noted that the department will determine the size of the upcoming class based on the attrition rate — or the number of retirements or resignations. It will at least start with 20 recruits, though.
They’re also open to accepting lateral transfers, or hiring police officers from other cities. That process will open on April 3, Mullins said.
The Dayton Police Department is opening the application pool to qualified candidates who are at least 20 years old when they apply. Anyone picked to go to the Dayton Police Academy needs to be at least 21 by the time they graduate.
As part of the hiring process, DPD conducts extensive background searches into candidates. Those include a review of things ranging from a candidate’s criminal and driving histories to their past work experiences and school transcripts. They’ll also perform a credit check.
The department gives each candidate a polygraph test. Potential recruits need to pass physical fitness, medical and psychological examinations as well.
If hired, a recruit will go through roughly 1,000 hours of paid law enforcement training. The academy is a “business academy,” meaning recruits attend the training during the day and go home at night.
A start date for the next recruit class isn’t yet available.
Visit joindaytonpd.com for more information about the Dayton Police Department’s recruiting efforts.