Earlier this year, at a convening hosted by the Office for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance and funded by the US Attorney General, more than 35 participants met in Washington, DC, to review the current state of law enforcement recruitment and retention and explore ways these activities can be modernized to meet the needs of today’s agencies, communities and workforce. The group pinpointed practices which may be contributing to hiring and retention difficulties in several areas: eligibility, benefits and incentives, work/life balance and officer wellness, diversity, image and public relations, and pipeline programs. For each of these areas, leaders from various agencies and community groups proposed solutions which can be implemented at the agency level and action steps which can be taken by local and state governments, as well as the federal government, to support and institutionalize these changes. This publication summarizes the convening and presents the group’s recommendations.
A PDF of this report can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/yc2mrafe