CUMBERLAND — Across the country, it’s getting harder to keep existing, as well as find new, police officers.
According to a 2024 survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, more than 70% of respondents said recruitment is more difficult now than five years ago.
“On average, agencies are operating at approximately 91% of their authorized staffing levels, indicating a nearly 10% deficit,” the survey stated.
The problem is felt here at home.
The Cumberland Police Department’s number of sworn officers has fluctuated from about 44 to 51 over the past five years.
“It’s a struggle,” Acting Cumberland Police Chief Lt. Eric Bonner said of the competitive hiring market for officers.
“We have nobody set to go to the police academy,” he said. “Our last recruit just backed out (and) the next academy is not until February.”
New recruits spend six months at the police academy, followed by two months doing field training.
Bonner, who spoke at Tuesday’s mayor and City Council work session, said state grants could help pay for officer retention and recruitment incentives.
He said most of the recent interest in joining CPD has come from out-of-state candidates.
Hiring incentives
City officials at the work session discussed police hiring incentives.
A proposed ordinance would give sworn police officers who own and live in a city house a 100% property tax credit.
“In the year an officer leaves the employ of the City of Cumberland, the tax credit shall be prorated for the total months that they resided in the city,” according to the proposal.
Newly hired officers would get a $2,000 bonus upon graduation from a police academy.
An additional $2,000 would be given to an academy graduate who is a certified veteran, or has a bachelor’s degree.
Newly hired police who were not previously employed by CPD and are certified to work as a Maryland or out-of-state officer eligible for comparative compliance course certification would get a $15,000 bonus paid in $5,000 increments over three years.
Existing sworn and civilian CPD employees would get a $1,000 bonus for successful referral of a police officer, excluding ranks of chief, captain and lieutenant, to the department.
Additionally, as budget allows, the police chief would “strive to provide” take-home vehicles to sworn employees, the proposal states.
New chief interviewsThe mayor and City Council on Tuesday will hold a closed meeting to interview and discuss candidates for a new police chief.
City officials authorized a retirement agreement with Cumberland Police Chief John “Chuck” Ternent, who had been with the department in various capacities since 1992, in July. He was appointed chief in 2020.
Bonner, who has been acting police chief for roughly three months, joined the department in 2002, according to the city’s website.
He is a 2003 graduate of the Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy, 2001 graduate of Fairmont State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice law enforcement and minor in sociology, and was employed by the Ocean City Police Department.
Bonner is a 2005 graduate of the University of Maryland’s Institute for Advanced Law Enforcement studies and a 2006 graduate of Castle’s K-9 school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Bonner has served “as a patrol officer, K-9 handler, corporal and sergeant,” the website stated.