ST PAUL, Minn. — Hiring continues to be an issue for police departments across the country over the past several years, including in the Twin Cities. In an interview Tuesday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara voiced his frustration over the challenges they're seeing.
That concern comes as a Minneapolis City Auditor report shows applications to the MPD are up nearly 80% this year compared to the same time last year. In 2023, the department received 693 applications.
So far this year, they've seen 1,125.
"The problem is, it's not good enough," O'Hara said. "It does not translate to the same percent increase of people that then wind up being hired, or even that wind up being investigated for us."
"It's a serious concern," he added.
O'Hara said Tuesday that they've hired around 60 people so far this year. It may seem small, but he says it's the highest they've seen in almost a decade.
The problem, O'Hara says, is that there's a lack of qualified applicants – something that's happening in St. Paul as well.
"We are understaffed by about 12%, you know, we struggle, like all law enforcement agencies, to fill those empty spots," St. Paul Assistant Chief of Police Paul Ford said.
"Our academies are running about 14 folks," he continued. "When I got hired, my academy was 40."
The SPPD has had 166 applicants so far this year – 33 have been hired. Hiring issues are across the board, Ford says.
"We're all kind of competing for the same candidates, which makes it more challenging," he said.
In that Minneapolis Auditor report, different jurisdictions are examined and compared for how they hire, including the time it takes for someone to get through the entire process.
Cities like Austin, Baltimore and Seattle are listed. In Minnesota, Duluth and St. Paul are also compared. Each of those can take less time from a submitted application to the time someone would start the academy.
Many of those cities take four months – Minneapolis takes six. O'Hara says that's a concern, as applicants sometimes simply can't afford to wait for the longer hiring process.
While that may be the case, both O'Hara and Ford say they're not willing to shorten their process to speed applicants through, instead opting to focus on other alternatives to ensure quality candidates.
"It's definitely not about reducing standards. It's about creating pathways and processes that are simpler and shorter, and more compact to get the same type of candidates and the same result in the end," Ford said.
"It needs to change with the times. It's essentially the same system that was in place when I was hired in 1998 with the St. Paul Police Department," Ford continued. "And I think we can do it, we just have to have the will to do it."
That includes multiple programs that focus on applicant retention. O'Hara says they need to do better in reassuring applicants that they're still candidates.
Ford says an option could be hiring those who have a degree that isn't in law enforcement. Both SPPD and MPD participate in the Intensive Comprehensive Peace Officer Education and Training Program, or ICPOET, through the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
ICPOET trains those with degrees outside of law enforcement, looking to transition into the field. SPPD has two currently in the program, and MPD has one.
Others also agree that the process needs to change, including those working with their communities and police departments. Lisa Clemons of A Mother's Love says she'd like to see more done to extend training to let new hires work with different organizations.
"By a month or so, so that they can be in community for a whole month with different organizations," Clemons said. "But the timeline doesn't shock me, but there's an immediacy for us to have cops out here in community. They just have to be the right cops."