IMPD hopes to hire 200 officers amid perception challenges

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is trying to fill 200 open officer positions.

At a recruitment event Tuesday, Chief Randal Taylor said finding people who want to do the job has been a challenge over the last few years. “Sometimes you want the officers but don’t have the money. Now, we’ve got the money and we can’t find the officers. So, that concerns me a lot.”

For the second straight year, the department hosted Join IMPD Week. In 2021, IMPD got some recruits out of the events but also lost police to other jobs in the process.

Currently, the department has a little more than 1,600 officers on the force.

Officer Molly McAfee said they want 1,800 but, she added, finding people who want to protect and serve hasn’t been easy since 2020. “Society has painted a pretty negative picture, so it’s made it pretty hard as a recruiter to recruit someone to do this position when they’re being told by their family and friends for whatever reason that this is not something they trust or something they are interested in.”

The police chief say a lot of work remains to be done on the public perception of police, which is why he thinks community events such as Tuesday’s are so important. “Yeah, the job is challenging, but really, in life, if it’s not challenging, what’s it really worth? If those are those voices you hear in your head, then come check us out and we’ll walk you through it and help you make the right decision.”

Taylor says recruits this year have been a little older than in past years. He said that brings him some comfort because he knows they’ve really thought it through.

IMPD will continue its recruiting events.