The Dallas Police Department will have a larger pool of potential applicants to choose from for its trainee program after a City Council vote this week.
The Dallas City Council unanimously approved a change to city policy on Wednesday that broadens who is eligible to become a sworn officer. Until now, a trainee police officer had to be at least 19.5 years old, a clean driving record and meet one of the following criteria:
- At least 45 credit hours from an accredited college or university with a C average or better
- At least 36 months of experience as a certified law enforcement officer
- An active Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) license
- At least 36 months of active duty military service with an honorable or uncharacterized discharge
With the change approved by City Council, an applicant can also be at least 21 years old with a high school diploma or GED, and at least 36 months of full-time, consecutive employment.
Challenges hiring, retaining Dallas police officers
The policy change comes as Dallas is under renewed pressure to grow its police force.
Last fall, voters approved an amendment to the city charter known as Proposition U, which mandates the city have a minimum of 4,000 police officers. At the end of the 2024 fiscal year, the department had 3,120 sworn officers; as of last week, the total was 3,215…