CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police announced Thursday they are launching a new recruiting campaign aimed at filling approximately 150 vacancies in the force.
According to a press release, CMPD has hired more than 350 new recruits and accepted 100 transfer officers from other departments since 2018. The 2019 recruiting campaign increased new hires by 15 percent year over year.
CMPD announced that 2020's recruitment will be led by Kelso Communications, who says CMPD "gives you the chance to accelerate your career in a community of opportunity." They will target recruits online with paid search engine marketing, social media ads, geofencing, in-gym advertising and in-gaming advertising. CMPD is currently on pace to hire at least 170 officers in 2020.
CMPD offers starting pay of $45,081 with pay incentives of 5% for associates and 10% for bachelor's degrees. Training officers can also earn up to $89,107 with a four-year degree and applicable second-language experience (Spanish, Vietnamese or Laotian). Depending on their years of experience and education, transfer officer salaries can start as high as $69,776.
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As CMPD races to shore up its ranks, spokesman Rob Tufano said officer vacancies are a problem affecting large police departments nationwide.
"If things don't improve and improve quickly, we're going to start seeing public safety impacted by this," Tufano said. "That's how critical of an issue that we're talking about here.
"Deputy Chief Stella Patterson said retirements and turnovers make it a constant battle to keep up.
"I think recruiting is probably one of those areas in the department that it's not a Monday through Friday job," Dep. Chief Patterson said. "We're constantly around the clock recruiting, hiring and processing people."
People interested in applying for the force can learn more information at this link. The City of Charlotte is launching a new job application system on April 1 that will simply and streamline the process for candidates. You can reach City of Charlotte recruiters at 704-3346-4600.