The Watch with Will Kennedy: CMPD Recruitment Efforts

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney says he needs more officers to combat a rising crime rate.

But finding those new officers can be tough.

“The infrastructure investment, sometimes, is in our people,” said Chief Putney. “And I’m saying, especially in the area of public safety.”

Chief Putney is stating his case, letting the Charlotte City Council know that his department needs more officers.

“We have a recruitment team of 15 officers,” says CMPD Captain Demetria Faulkner-Welch.

Faulkner-Welch is the captain of the Recruitment and Training Division. Her team travels to job fairs around the state and across the South, looking for new recruits. CMPD also puts a heavy emphasis on our military, recruiting veterans to the force.

“We go to military bases,” says Capt. Faulkner-Welch. “We set up our testing, and do testing on site there, which makes it easier for them.”

There is a lateral program that lets sworn officers from other agencies apply year round.

CMPD is also working with local high schools, starting the recruiting process early with the Cadet Program, The Explorers and the High School Academy.

“Those are different programs that we have at the department,” says Capt. Faulkner-Welch. “Younger children can get involved, and kind of start their career at an early age. And then you know exactly what they’re looking for. And then they know the expectations, and they are familiar with the department.”

The department expects to see the need for new recruits intensify in the next few years, with a large retirement bubble on the horizon.

And it’s not just officers. The command team and support staff could soon feel the pinch.

“We have people who do crime scene investigations,” says Chief Putney. “We haven’t grown that in the last 20 years. So there are other areas that need to be focused on as well; not just the sworn staff.”

A class of 28 new CMPD officers will graduate this Friday. The next class with 52 trainees started the academy two weeks ago.

The application process opens four times a year, and stays open for seven days.