A new pilot program that offers a bonus of up to $5,000 to current Dallas Police Department personnel who recruit new officers is set to debut in a matter of weeks.
The Public Safety Committee reviewed the program on Monday. It is planned to begin on October 1 as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget.
The incentive would give a $1,000 bonus to the first 100 officers to recruit a new officer who successfully graduates from the police academy. Once the recruit completes a probationary period after graduation, the referring officer will receive another $1,000. An additional $3,000 payment will be made to the referring officer when the new officer reaches a specific amount of time on the force, which will most likely be two or three years, per NBC 5 DFW.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia told the committee at the meeting on Monday that DPD currently has 3,073 total officers and hopes to grow to 3,600 by 2033.
The committee previously discussed appropriate incentive amounts for recruiting new officers in April, as reported by The Dallas Express.
One proposal was to offer $3,000 for each officer who successfully recruits someone to the department; however, committee members said that would not be enough.
“Option A would provide only $3,000 for each,” said the committee chair, Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12), during the April meeting, per DX. “I don’t think that’s enough money. [With] Option B, you’re proposing $5,000. I’m telling you, I’m proposing $6,000.”
“It’s not all about referral. It’s about referral and retention. The hope would be that folks dressed in blue are going to actively seek who they want to serve alongside them, who are going to literally have their back in their worst moments,” she said.
The department expects to lose 190 officers through attrition this year and 37 more to retirement. It is also likely to lose an additional 83 officers who have five years or less with the department, per NBC 5.
DPD has grappled with a staffing shortage for years, which has affected its ability to fight crime. Response times are high around the city, with fewer officers available to respond in a timely manner.
The department only has around 3,000 officers in uniform serving Dallas residents, despite a City analysis that claims roughly 4,000 are necessary to bring down response times and properly maintain public safety.
The department’s staffing situation has seemingly affected Downtown Dallas. The Central Business District logs much higher crime rates than Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is reportedly patrolled by a dedicated neighborhood police unit that works with private security guards.
Budgeting only $654 million of taxpayer money for DPD this fiscal year, Dallas City officials have opted to spend considerably less on public safety than other high-crime cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.