LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says it’s doing all it can to hire more officers.
With the valley growing so rapidly and crime rates going up, the department says there’s a need to hire as soon as possible.
“The process starts with my recruitment staff. They need to be representative of the community so that they can assimilate with the people that they’re talking with. What I tell everybody is that if you really wanna make a change and impact change, then apply,” said Richard Myers, LVMPD’s lieutenant for recruiting.
The department has put up billboards in cities like Chicago, Portland, Minneapolis and Austin in hopes of pulling officers from those cities into what they call a lateral academy.
“We look at a cost analysis and more specifically, we look at what’s happening in the current political climate in those cities. We look at how those police departments are doing in their recruiting efforts and really analyze those things because the public and sheriff expect that we’re diligently spending our money,” Myers said.
LVMPD says it has been losing about 200 officers a year since 2016.
The department points to things like retirement, the current political climate and the pandemic for those numbers.
Looking forward, authorities say they want to keep a ratio of at least two officers per 1,000 residents. To do that, they are offering cash incentives, things like benefits and generous moving bonuses to anybody who takes the job.
LVMPD is also looking to recruit locally through different programs.
