Cleveland Police Shortage and Recruitment Efforts

By Izzy Aparicio

The City of Cleveland struggles to gain and retain police officers.

In a meeting of the Cleveland City Council’s Public Safety Committee, Ward 1 Councilman Joe Jones said, “It seems like we’re going from bad to worse.”

In the past, the city budgeted for 1,640 officers, but this year the budget allows for 1,350 officers, many with pay increases.

Currently, a new class of cadets is going through the process of becoming officers. However, three have already dropped out. It is unclear how many more will.

After the city extended the age range for applicants, they did see slightly more recruits, but this is not enough.

In response to this problem, in 2023, the City of Cleveland said that they would begin a recruiting campaign. So far it has not borne fruit. According to information gathered by News 5 from a city spokesperson, the City of Cleveland, in partnership with the marketing firm Little Jacket, was supposed to create a campaign. However, it is unclear what stage they are at in this process.

This drop in police officers has put a strain on city officials as they worry about what may happen, but it does not look like anything will change soon.