In-depth look at issues with police staffing and recruiting in the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley police departments and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department are looking for new officers and deputies.
Recruits and law enforcement officers thinking about changing departments may hold a lot of the cards in a tight market right now.
A News Channel 3 I-Team Investigation looks into staffing in local agencies and how they are working to bring more officers on board.
The F.B.I.'s Uniform Crime Report shows that Palm Springs has the highest per capita staffing of the valley's four police Departments.
- Palm Springs had two officers per 1,000 residents in 2020.
- Desert Hot Springs had .9 officers.
- Cathedral City and Indio both had .8 officers per 1,000 residents.
Indio Police Chief Mike Washburn doesn't think it's a good comparison saying, "Actually the F.B.I. invented that. It really should be based upon workload and performance metrics."
Palm Springs Police Chief Andrew Mills admits the per capita numbers can be misleading, citing the number of his officers who are assigned to the airport and local schools, which can make it appear his department has more officers on the street.
The rest of the valley's cities contract law enforcement services with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
In those cities, Indian Wells has the highest number of deputies per 1,000 residents with 2.03.
Coachella has the lowest coverage at .64 deputies per 1,000 residents.
Palm Desert, La Quinta, and Rancho Mirage all land between 1.09 and 1.59.
Desert Hot Springs Police Chief Jim Henson says staffing shortages make their jobs more difficult when it come to community policing and maintaining a presence.
"We need to get back out there and be proactive and this shortage isn't helping the situation," Henson says.
All of the departments are hiring and competing with each other for new recruits and lateral hires from other agencies.
Riverside County Sheriff Capt. Kenneth Reichle is heading up that effort, looking for 300 correctional deputies and 240 patrol deputies.
"We are pushing our message out there that we are hiring," Reichle says.
The sheriff's department and other agencies are relaxing some standards when it comes to things like facial hair, tattoos, and not requiring Covid-19 vaccinations.
Palm Springs is putting money on the line.
"We have a $30,000 hiring bonus. So anybody listening to my voice right now should remember that," Chief Henson adds.
Other agencies like Indio are focusing on hometown recruits like Officer Kyle Lawrence who started in the academy shortly after the pandemic hit.
Lawrence says, "law enforcement is a great career, you know. It's something you know, there's a lot of benefits to it, you can make a good living, the work is excellent."
Cathedral City is looking for a mix of both new recruits and laterals.
Overall, the four local departments have room for about 36 new officers.
The sheriff's department has openings for hundreds of deputies.
Check Out the Hiring Pages for Our Local Police Departments:
