BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — There is a new effort to help recruit police officers across New York State while setting them up for a successful future.
A bipartisan bill has been announced to provide a four-year degree benefit to police officers.
The Educational and Career Opportunities for Public Safety (EdCOPS) Act would allow a public safety officer who has served for eight years and commits to serving four more for the same employer to be eligible to receive financial assistance to attend a college or university.
An eligible officer would also be able to transfer unused education benefits to their dependent.
This comes as recruitment numbers are at an all-time low. The Erie County Department of Personnel recently shared an unprecedented drop in applications for the upcoming police officer civil service exam on September 28. The last day to register is August 14.
The department reports fewer than 400 applicants signed up this year, compared to about 1,000 applicants in 2022, 1,500 in 2019 and 1,800 in 2016.
I spoke with two local police departments about how this bipartisan bill would hopefully give extra *oomph* to recruitment applications.
"The profession has had dwindling interest for various reasons, but I have never seen recruitment as tough as it is currently," East Aurora Police Department Chief Patrick Welch said.
The small pool of applicants has been felt at the East Aurora Police Department, which currently has 18 officers. It is quite the opposite for the Buffalo Police Department.
Here is Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia last Friday, at a swearing-in of police recruits:
"We're almost at capacity. We're budgeted at 812 officers," the commissioner explained.
The bipartisan bill aims to boost recruitment across the board.
Chief Welch sees it as a pathway for a younger officer.
"If they dial that back a little bit to maybe three years, four years on the job, now you're qualified. You get a young officer who aspires to be an investigator, aspires to go into forensics, do crime scene investigation, evidence work or maybe you have an officer who is focused on becoming a leader," Chief Welch said. "The bill has just recently come out. There's a lot to be delved into. I think it's early to speculate on how much of an impact it could have."
Commissioner Gramaglia shared the same sentiment about amending the length of qualification.
"Too long in service. I think at that point, it becomes even harder to go back to school. You end up having a family and other responsibilities. I think the best time to take advantage of that is a younger officer who may potentially may not have the amount of family responsibilities that would allow them to go back to school," he explained.
