Local law enforcement agencies combat staffing shortages From the cover
Two-minute impact
Police officer staffing and vacancies Sugar Land police staffing, July 1
Missouri City police staffing
Missouri City Police Department vacancies were at an all-time high in 2022 with the department lacking 31 officers, causing the department to get creative with scheduling, such as using 12-hour shifts, Harris said. Since then, the department’s vacancies have shrunk in half to 15 vacancies. “My primary goal for the department has been to be fully staffed and to have measures in place to retain officers for the long term,” Harris said. “With full staffing, we are able to be more proactive in our efforts to keep our city safe.” However, Sugar Land Police Chief Mark Poland said his department didn’t see the same shortages other agencies did, estimating the city hovers between a 7%-9% vacancy rate. “When I got here [two years ago], the police department was doing well and was almost fully staffed,” he said. “We … had two vacancies.” Staffing shortages can affect agencies by putting a strain on officers who are having to work overtime with little to no days off, said Tyler Owen, social media and communications manager for the Texas Municipal Police Association. The shortages can also affect officer time for responding when there is an influx of calls.
Filled
Vacant
Report date Filled Budgeted Vacant Dec. 31, 2017 95 105 10 Dec. 31, 2018 99 105 6 Feb. 7, 2020 104 105 1 Jan. 28, 2021 100 104 4 Oct. 18, 2021 102 104 2 Dec. 1, 2022 90 110 20
200
15
7
14
7
3
5
11
150
100
50
0
NOTE: DATA FROM SUGAR LAND AND MISSOURI CITY IS DIFFERENT DUE TO MISSOURI CITY OFFICIALS SAYING THEY WERE UNABLE TO GET JULY 1 DATA.
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
National number of sworn police officers, January*
National number of police officers hired annually*
159.2K
160K
15K
11.1K
10.4K
10.7K
9.8K
155K
10K
8.6K
151.3K
150K
5K
0
0
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
*THE POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM, A POLICE RESEARCH AND POLICY NONPROFIT, HAS TRACKED POLICING TRENDS THROUGH 214 REPORTED AGENCIES. SOURCES: MISSOURI CITY, SUGAR LAND, POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Zooming in
Zooming out
Law enforcement nationwide saw 50% more resignations, a 20% spike in retirements and a 5% drop in the number of sworn officers from 2019 to 2022, according to a survey by the Police Executive Research Forum, a police research and policy nonprofit. Owen said he believes this is a result of fewer recruits and more officers leaving the field due to low pay, and negative public perception of officers.
To combat vacancies, both the Sugar Land and Missouri City police departments have upped pay and offered various incentives to improve recruit- ment and retention, officials said. In July, Sugar Land City Council approved a $2.23 million shift to a step pay system for law enforcement, which provides increments in an employee’s salary over time rather than the tradi- tional merit-based pay. The step pay also raised an officer’s base pay from $69,784 to $75,605. The department also offers additional incentives such as stipends ranging from $600-$1,800 for educational degrees and certifications. Meanwhile, Missouri City City Council approved a 4.4% raise for police officers with a new base of $68,110 in April and a $10,000 signing incentive for entry-level officers. This comes after a two-phased salary study released in late 2022 and early 2023 that showed a majority of city employee salaries were near the bottom of the area market. Missouri City also changed the maximum hiring age of officers from 45 to 55 in July 2023, Community Impact reported.
Houston-area law enforcement base pay
Houston
$58,600
Missouri City
$68,110
Sugar Land
$75,605
Fulshear
$68,075
Pearland
National exiting trends for law enforcement
$66,163
Resignations
Retirements
“Pay has significantly gone up for law enforcement to attract [applicants], and that pay really didn’t drum up a lot of applicants.” TYLER OWEN, SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER FOR THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL POLICE ASSOCIATION
15K
10K
5K
0
2019
2020 2021
2023 2022
SOURCES: CITIES OF HOUSTON, PEARLAND, FULSHEAR, MISSOURI CITY, SUGAR LAND/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM/COMMUNITY IMPACT
20
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook