Oct 2, 2006 10:58 pm US/Central
Dallas Police Department Breaks Recruiting Record
by J.D. Miles
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
The Dallas Police Department is celebrating a record breaking year for recruiting. A new class of trainees entered the police academy last week. The group will add to the 2006 recruiting total and produce the most new officers, in one year, since 1991.
Bonuses, billboards, and a better image have all contributed to a banner year for the DPD.
Last week, 43 recruits entered the academy which will put 218 new officers on the streets this year.
"We had a great year," says Lieutenant Tammie Hale, Dallas Police Department.
The latest class of new recruits includes five former police officers from New Orleans and Detroit.
Two-hundred-eighteen officers were hired in 2006, that's 48 more than last year and 78 more than in 2004.
Seventy-percent of the new recruits come from the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
The department says an aggressive advertising campaign and a provision that allows military experience to substitute for college degrees is part of the reason.
There seems to be no disagreement that the affective recruiting tool for the department is a $10,000 signing bonus.
"We feel more confident in the officers that we've hired because we've done extensive background checks on them," Hale said.
Only seven-percent of the 2,500 applicants were hired. Department officials say years of criticism over hiring practices have led to tougher standards.
"We feel more confident in the officers that we've hired because we've done extensive background checks on them," Hale said.
The DPD recruiting bonus is attracting so many applicants that, for the first time, the academy will offer an evening class next year.
(CBS 11 News)
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