Many police departments across Connecticut are struggling to hire new officers, reflecting a national trend that many attribute in part to stricter accountability standards and a negative perception of law enforcement following national protests over misconduct.
“Recruiting new officers is very difficult these days, probably the most difficult I've seen in my 33 plus year career,” said Patrick Ridenhour, Danbury’s police chief and president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association.
“Minority recruitment was always challenging but now it’s across the board,” Ridenhour said. “The problem is nationwide. I recently learned that a department from California will soon be coming all the way to Connecticut to attract new recruits out there.”
Ridenhour and other experts said a variety of factors are reducing the pool of candidates, including a negative perception of policing after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers, efforts by states to strengthen accountability rules that made it easier to fire officers and limited the use of excessive force and a reluctance to interact with the public because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Overall, a majority of police officers feel their jobs have gotten more difficult since high-profile use of force incidents have dominated the national conversation,” the International Association of Police Chiefs said in a recent report.
“Agencies strongly believe that public perception of law enforcement limits interest in the profession and is a sizable barrier to effective recruitment,” the association concluded.
A survey by the association found that 78 percent of departments contacted were having trouble recruiting qualified candidates, 65 percent had too few candidates and 75 percent said recruitment is more difficult now than five years ago.
Lt. David Wolf, a spokesman for the Westport Police Department, acknowledged departments are finding it difficult to recruit new officers.
“Recruiting has certainly been a bit more challenging over the last couple of years because it does seem that fewer people are interested in a career in law enforcement,” Wolf said.
“I do not want to speculate as to why there is this reduced interest, but it is likely based on a variety of factors as opposed to one specific reason,” Wolf added. “Because the applicant pool has shrunk, many of the departments are often vying for the same pool of qualified candidates.”
Troy Raccuia, director of collective bargaining for Council 4 AFSCME, which represents local police officers, said multiple factors are in play.
“Many municipalities have eliminated pensions or made health care too costly, which has hampered recruitment and retention,” Raccuia said.
“Various legislative initiatives directed only at police — such as the diminishment of qualified immunity protections, the creation of a special prosecutor and the increased ability to fire officers and ban them from their profession for life — are having a negative impact,” Raccuia said. “And the continued demonizing of police officers across multiple media platforms has made the job less appealing.”
Shortages everywhere
Ansonia Corporate Counsel John Marini in January blamed the shortage of police applicants on the 2020 Police Accountability Act. Ansonia is seeking to hire six new officers.
Among many provisions, the new state law established an independent review of fatal force incidents by police, mandated that officers intervene and report excessive use of force by other officers, required probable cause to search vehicles during traffic stops, made it easier to fire officers and banned decertified officers from working as security guards.
“It’s no surprise, because of legislation recently passed in Connecticut and nationwide, (there has been) a bit of an attack on law enforcement, unfortunately, from the government that’s supposed to be supporting them,” Marini told Hearst Connecticut Media at the time.
“We’re not shy about saying that,” he added. “What Connecticut is doing is obviously making it more difficult for local law enforcement.”
Trumbull Police Chief Michael Lombardo told police commissioners in February that the police overtime account is 10 percent over budget because of a shortage of officers, according to minutes of the meeting.
The town’s police force is authorized for 82 officers and now has 75, with four currently in the police academy.
The minutes note that Lombardo said “police departments are having (problems) finding good police applicants. The other problem the chief has found is retaining police officers due to not offering the Defined Benefit Pension Plan.”
Bridgeport police also reported recruitment challenges.
“There is a nationwide issue with recruitment not only for police but other first responders,” said Scott Appleby, the city’s emergency management director. “We really cannot pinpoint the reasoning but hope if there is someone wanting to make a difference in their community that they would apply and take the exam.”
City officials project the police department will overspend its $5.5 million overtime budget by around $2.5 million by the time the fiscal year ends June 30.
Bridgeport last year announced that 419 candidates had submitted applications to become a city police officer. By comparison, 1,013 candidates filled out applications in 2015.
Milford Police Chief Keith Mello in February told his police commission that the department is also grappling with officer shortages and recruitment difficulties. He said officers are being “held over” for extra shifts and “that is affecting their morale,” according to minutes of the meeting.
Still, not every town is experiencing a police shortage or recruitment difficulties. Shelton Police Chief Shawn Sequeira said his force, which currently employs 53 officers and is authorized to to have 58, is doing fine.
“I fully understand that municipalities have been facing a shortage of officers and challenges hiring officers,” Sequeira said. “Fortunately, in Shelton we have not encountered that problem yet.”
Shelton Finance Director Paul Hiller said the current overtime budget is $922,883. Through the end of February, the department has spent $614,548 for overtime.
A national trend
The Police Executive Research Forum, a police research and policy organization, pointed to several causes for officer shortages and recruitment difficulties, such as stress caused by COVID-19, the thousands of protests following George Floyd’s death and acts of violence and hostility towards officers.
“Many brought up the decline in police officers’ morale over the past two years,” the organization said, referring to its most recent survey of members. “Respondents cited the protests and public sentiment towards the police over the past two years. Some also cited the impact of COVID protocols and mandates.”
Still, the Marshall Project questioned whether police employment and recruitment was being accurately portrayed. In an article published last fall, the group pointed out that police departments have lost less workers than the overall U.S. economy.
“From 2019 to 2020, the number of people working at local police departments and sheriff's offices decreased by less than one percent, according to monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” the Marshall Project reported in an article published on its website.
“The decrease is much slower than the overall employment, or industries such as restaurants, education and healthcare,” the Marshall Project noted. “Even as many industries started to bounce back, local police hiring hasn’t picked up because it takes months, or even years, to train to become a police officer.”
Ridenhour, the Danbury police chief, said many factors are making it harder to recruit police officers, including those cited by the International Association of Police Chiefs.
“The aftermath of George Floyd and other incidents that gained significant media attention are factors,” Ridenhour said. “The recent accountability legislation is a factor, too.”
“But we also have to recognize that there are other reasons why people don’t want to be police officers,” Ridenhour added. “Things like rotating shifts and mandatory overtime can be a turn off to potential candidates, especially our younger generation that likes to have more flexibility.”
bcummings@ctpost.com
Staff writers Amanda Cuda, Brian Lockhart, Serenity Bishop, Mike Mavredakis and Brian Gioiele contributed to this report.
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