In order to fill staffing shortfalls, Metropolitan Police Department officers will now receive a $25,000 hiring bonus, an increase from the previous $20,000 subsidy.
The new hiring bonus will take effect on April 24.
The bonus will be split into two portions — $15,000 upon initial hire, and $10,000 upon completion of training at the police academy.
The bonus bump was made possible partly by the shortfall it aims to fix, with the money initially allocated for currently unfilled full-time positions.
“We will continue our focus on growing MPD so that we have the officers we need to have a strong presence in the community, to make and close cases, and to respond quickly to emergencies,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement.
D.C.’s goal is to get the force back up to 4,000 officers. As of now, there are 98 police recruits currently training in the academy.
There were 3,377 sworn officers in the Metropolitan Police Department as of Feb. 23, 2023, the lowest number since the 1970s according to Chief Robert Contee III.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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