In The News

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) — Over the last five years, the Virginia State Police has seen a sharp decrease in applications and recruiting troopers. With the pandemic, and overall attitudes surrounding law enforcement, the decline led to over 350 vacancies in the department. Lieutenant Michael Schatzel with Virginia State Police says their applicant pool was dwindling with their class sizes averaging just 53 troopers between January 2020 until September of 2024. “We can’t blame it on one thing. You know, maybe things could have been done, or done better as a whole, across the board by us, or other people,”

SEATTLE – Mayor Bruce Harrell and Police Chief Shon Barnes today celebrated a major police recruitment milestone – the Seattle Police Department (SPD) is on track to hire its 150th officer in 2025 in the coming weeks. This means that SPD will hire more officers in 2025 than in 2024 (84) and 2023 (61) combined. More than 3,300 people applied for entry-level or lateral officer positions with SPD in the first three quarters of 2025, compared with 2,700 in the same period in 2024 and 1,300 in 2023. “Our comprehensive plan to rebuild the police department is showing real results,

The Baltimore Police Department this week marked the graduation of its largest recruit class in 12 years, a sign of what department leaders say is a turnaround in recruiting and retention amid a sustained decline in violent crime. Forty-six new officers took the oath of office Thursday evening before a packed sanctuary at Zion Baptist Church on Harford Avenue, where family members, friends and police leaders gathered to mark the recruits’ entry into a profession that has struggled in recent years to replenish its ranks.