In response to the officer shortage, the Rochester Police Department modifies their recruitment effort

Rochester, New York – There is a shortage of officers in law enforcement agencies around the nation, especially in Rochester.

For this reason, the Rochester Police Department is experimenting with a novel approach to officer recruitment this year.

According to recruitment officers, part of their new approach involved asking officers who had been on the police for five years or fewer about what drew them to the position in a focus group.

Michelle Calderon, a department recruitment officer, stated, “City residents are calling 911 and they’re waiting hours for officers to get there.” Not because we don’t want to be present. We just cannot be in multiple places at once, which is why we are failing the people of Rochester.”

Almost 100 policemen are currently missing from the Rochester Police Department due to understaffing.

“Whether it’s a high-priority call, violence, or whether it’s just something like a burglary report or some type of incident report, a motor vehicle accident, in order to provide that timely, quick, effective service — truly effective as we can be— we, like other organizations across the country, have to get our staffing to where it should be,” said Sergeant Justin Collins, who is also a recruitment police officer.

Interviews from the new focus group focused on recruitment were used by the department to construct a new campaign video.

“The advertisement is like a Netflix show or a television show that a young person might watch, and dream of maybe one day becoming a cop,” Collins stated. “I was that young person at one point who wanted to do that.”

Potential new hires can see what a typical workday in the workplace looks like in the video.

“Officers are searching buildings now as we stand here,” stated Collins. “They are bravely going call to call to call, not knowing what’s next, putting their lives on the line for complete strangers every single day.”

The officers in the focus group stated that their attraction to the organization was the pay, benefits, and family-like atmosphere; they expect that emphasizing these aspects will help draw in new members.

That is what we will constantly remind our future officers when they enter the workforce. Family is ingrained in the culture there, Collins said. “I have 19 years of experience with Michelle. You spend a lot of time with the individuals who you work with, and I am confident that she would support me in any situation, just as I would support her.”

The deadline for submitting an application to join the force is September 4.