March 20, 2022
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Law enforcement agencies face recruitment challenges - KRCR

Outside the Chico State University Police Department, located in between Downtown Chico and the South Campus community of the university. (KRCR)
Outside the Chico State University Police Department, located in between Downtown Chico and the South Campus community of the university. (KRCR)

CHICO, Calif. — Law enforcement agencies across the Northstate are struggling to recruit new officers.

Interim Chief with the University Police Department, Chris Nicodemus told KRCR they are currently down a couple of officers, trying to recruit daily while also maintaining their standards.

"It's really a challenging time to be in law enforcement right now. We want to keep our standards high, we want the right people doing the job for the right reasons."

He can't say exactly what is causing this challenging time for recruiting officers, but he has noticed it is something many other agencies are dealing with.

"The actions of one officer can affect the entire country. We saw that with the George Floyd murder. I can't say that for sure cause people do not want to get law enforcement, but it felt like the profession was under attack. We need to have the right people in the right job hold those accountable when there is misconduct, but also have the support of the community, which we do here, and try to get better and try to improve and build relationships."

To retain officers, Nicodemus said law enforcement agencies have had to get creative to hire employees such as hiring bonuses.

Nicodemus said an advantage for the University Police Department is that Chico State has around 700 students studying criminal justice and political science.

The University Police Department plans to focus its own outreach and encourage students to join the police department.

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source: https://krcrtv.com/news/local/law-enforcement-agencies-face-recruitment-challenges-03-21-2022

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