TALLAHASSEE, FL — The Tallahassee Police Department welcomed 22 new officers, marking this to be the largest recruitment class for several years.
"I've grown up in a family full of law enforcement. I've always wanted to do law enforcement, finding TPD the trust, loyalty and commitment kind of stuck with me," said Amber Dozier, one of the 22 new recruits.
Recruitment efforts are so low statewide, study shows that the ratio of 2 officers is to 1,000 people in the community.
In recent years, a shortage of law enforcement has sparked more recruitment efforts to get more men and women in the profession.
"To do community policing the way its intended to be done we should be at 700 officers and were currently about little under 400 so the issue the challenge becomes trying to find that many officers," said Tallahassee police Chief Lawrence Revell.
One of those recruitment efforts, TPD offering an 11-thousand-dollar sign on bonus.
During a 2022 Legislative Session, Governor Ron Desantis signed a House Bill that included 20 million dollars for Law enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment program.
Revell described this class to be a new way forward to recruiting more police officers. Revell also added that recruiting 22 new offices today not only helps the department become more staffed but makes the community safer.
"This just shows that theirs still many people in our community that have that heart of service and just want to really get out and serve their community," said Revell.
