LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A retired Louisville Metro Police sergeant says the department will need to offer its officers more than better pay to improve retention and recruitment.
Eric Johnson retired from the department in 2004, but remains involved in the law enforcement community.
"There's a lot of things that need to be fixed in order to attract people to come back into law enforcement," he said.
As of last week, the Louisville Metro Police Department is short 241 sworn officers. In a podcast with Chief Erika Shields released Thursday, LMPD Recruitment and Selection Officer Andre Shaw announced that two current recruit classes are well below capacity. The two classes combined can hold a maximum 96 recruits, but the department only managed to recruit 31.
In the podcast, Shields acknowledged the dire dilemma, as violent crime spikes in Louisville.
"It's a difficult space for law enforcement across the country," she said. "Every agency across the United States — large agency — that I know of is having a horrible time recruiting and hiring."
Shields and Shaw told viewers they are devising ways to bolster recruitment efforts.
Shaw said LMPD will seek out more minority recruits by building better relationships with Louisville's Black churches and historically Black schools.
In a Tuesday news conference, Shields said the department is also exploring the idea of re-hiring some retirees to help shift younger officers from more clerical jobs to patrol duties.
In the podcast, the chief said she's also negotiating for officer pay raises.
But Johnson said hiring 241 officers will take more than what's been suggested so far.
"Pay is a factor, but it's important to understand, people aren't drawn to law enforcement because of pay and benefits," he said. "They're drawn because they have a passion to serve."
Pictured, from left: Louisville Metro Police Chief Erika Shields, Dr. Monique Williams, Director, Office for Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, and Jody Meiman, Director, Louisville Metro Emergency Services.Â
When he served as an officer in what he described as "one of the most violent areas of the city," Johnson says he felt supported by both the community and its leaders. Nowadays, however, he feels that level of support is lacking.
"I can tell you from talking to officers, they don't feel supported. They especially don't feel supported by elected officials," he said.
He feels that perceived lack of support is the biggest barrier to recruiting and retaining officers in Louisville — and other metropolitan cities — right now.
"When officers are guilty of wrongdoing, other officers want to see that officer ... removed from the ranks. But they want it done fairly. They want them, you know, to be a thorough process and not just a political process," he said. "I think there's a lot of officers that are very hopeful that Chief Shields will be able to make a great difference, but you know, the problem is much bigger than police leadership."
Another former LMPD officer, who retired more recently and spoke anonymously, said a lack of support from some community members, commanders, as well as city leaders, is the reason they hear cited most when officers leave the department. However, that former officer, a retired lieutenant, is hopeful.
For instance, the former lieutenant feels the chief's idea to bring retirees back to the department to shoulder some of the load could be an effective strategy.
“Things can always get better," the retired officer said.
In the Thursday podcast, while she did not address the perceived lack of support, Shield agreed that the situation can improve.
"We know the road map to fix this," she said. "And we're going down it, and we are going to fix this."
In the discussion, she directed Shaw to re-open the recruitment window for the two current classes, which closed toward the end of June.
"If you're short that many people, why would it ever close?" Shields said.
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.Â
