(The Center Square) – Ongoing political tension means law enforcement agencies across the nation still face hiring challenges.
During their budget hearings in the General Assembly on Wednesday, representatives of the Pennsylvania State Police said they are having the same recruitment problems.
“It’s speculation on my part, but my best guess is [law enforcement] it’s just not a sought after or valued profession,” said State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris when answering a question about why recruiting is so difficult.
Paris suggested there may be some “generational differences,” in that younger people may not see themselves in one job for their entire career.
“It’s pervasive across the United States,” continued Paris, but he noted every cadet who graduates inspires him.
“We’re going to continue to look hard, and we’re going to find good people that want to come in to the Pennsylvania State Police,” Paris said.
The agency has taken several steps to improve recruitment, including one of the more recent efforts made in August 2023, eliminating college credit requirements for those wanting to become state troopers.
The cadet class that graduated this past December was the first for which the college credit requirement was waived. Roughly 45% of the cadets who became part of that class did not have a college degree, said Paris.
Several legislative Democrats urged the agency to improve the diversity of the state trooper complement, calling the current number of women and people of color in the ranks “disappointing.”
Paris noted the agency had 268 “black, brown or Asian members” in 2016, which was its low point. That number has grown to a current figure of 408, though he added, “It is certainly not where we want to be.”
“We still continue in a very difficult recruiting environment to try and use our mentoring program, our Cadet Life tours and other overtures to not only college campus, but to historically black colleges and universities,” said Paris.
He told lawmakers the agency also operates recruitment operations like Camp Cadet and the Law and Leadership Academy, which would get an additional $300,000 in the governor’s proposed budget. He credited those programs with boosting interest in the state police.
Lt. Col. Christopher King, deputy commissioner of administration and professional responsibility, added the agency has worked very hard on increasing its presence on social media to connect with more “tech-savvy” generations, as well as provide younger age groups with introductions to law enforcement through such things as its Hill Impact Program.
“We’re trying to be as visible as we can … we’ve tried to get into any space where there’s a willing participant to listen to us, to hear and contemplate becoming part of the Pennsylvania State Police and doing good work,” said Paris.
As of January, the filled enlisted complement of the Pennsylvania State Police, or PSP, was 4,634. Paris explained some of the positions included within the agency’s current overall 4,841 personnel cap “don’t count against the complement,” so the actual cap is 4,410, and 219 vacancies remain.
“The pivotal issue in this year’s proposed budget is the removal of the complement cap,” Paris told House Appropriations Committee members Wednesday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Paris and his PSP command staff warned new cadet graduation classes could push the agency very close to the limit.
“We have a class graduating in May and we just started a class,” said Brooke Meade, special assistant to Commisioner Paris. “With those numbers, we will be very close to determine how many we will be able to appoint in June without a complement increase.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget includes $14.5 million for four additional cadet classes to potentially train 432 new troopers. Lt. Col. George Bivens said if the number of new cadets would exceed the cap, “We just wouldn’t even start a class, or we’d start a smaller class.”
The difficulties presented by the cap are compounded by the fact that some personnel are not able to perform their normal duties due to injury, parental leave and other types of leave, explained Bivens. He said are 175 full-time-equivalent positions, which could grow to more than 225, for which they can’t hire because people hold those jobs, despite not being able to work.
“That is a huge potential problem with the cap, because while we don’t have those people in uniform … we can’t train those new troopers because we’re going to bump against that cap,” he said.
Also of concern as the PSP attempts to maintain a full complement are potential retirements. Paris explained it’s difficult to discern when someone might retire. Roughly 1,150 of their complement will have 20 years or more of service with the agency by the end of 2026.
Noting there’s a mandatory retirement age of 60, Paris said, “We look at how many members have more than that 20-year mark,” and though most of those 1,150 won’t immediately retire, “it’s concerning to us from an operational standpoint.”
Eliminating the complement cap would have to be done legislatively. In 2023, the General Assembly raised the cap by 100 troopers.
“If the complement cap was removed, we could come down here [to the General Assembly] year in and year out to justify what we need” to do the jobs the agency is tasked with doing, said Paris. Bivens told legislators the agency has the capacity to accommodate troopers above the current cap, so adding more troopers wouldn’t create a logistics problem.
Worries about the number of available troopers have been magnified because of the high-profile, major national and international events to which Pennsylvania will be playing host before the end of 2026, including the FIFA World Cup, the NFL Draft, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game and our nation’s Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
Couple that with the agency’s normal missions of patrolling a significant portion of the commonwealth’s roadways while providing various levels of police services and traffic enforcement to municipalities; aiding local, state and federal law enforcement with criminal law enforcement and prevention efforts; supplying emergency assistance when needed; and performing liquor and gaming law enforcement.