MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The Mobile Police Department is on the verge of hitting a milestone it has not achieved in years – full strength.
The department is authorized for 492 officers, but for years has operated well below that because of difficulty recruiting police. Rob Lasky, the executive director of public safety, said he expects the number of officers to meet or exceed that level by the next graduating class at the Mobile Police Academy in December. He said he does not even know the last time the department operated at that level.
“I couldn’t tell you that,” he said after Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “It was well before my time.”
It is a nationwide problem, one that Mayor Sandy Stimpson has tried to address with pay hikes. The council last year increased public safety salaries by $8 million, boosting the baseline starting pay to $51,402. That came on top of a previous increase to a little more than $49,000, up from $32,000 a few years ago. In 2023, the council added a $5,200 bonus for graduating from the Mobile Police Academy…