ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Police Department is facing a critical shortage of officers, with over 100 positions currently unfilled. Despite ongoing recruitment efforts, the department is struggling to attract new candidates.
“We’re still just not seeing the numbers and seeing the folks that are interested so that continues to be a struggle,” says Chief David Smith of the Rochester Police Department. The shortage is so severe that it’s outpacing the rate of new hires. Chief Smith highlighted the disparity, saying, “I have a recruit class graduating on Friday, it’s 5, I’ve had 5 retirements just this month.”
In recent years, RPD has made strides in diversifying its force to better reflect the community it serves. Last year, more than 60% of new hires were non-white and 30% were women…