HAGERSTOWN – 14 April 2021, A presentation from Police Chief Joey Kifer at the City of Hagerstown’s Mayor and Council work session yesterday afternoon discussed the serious uphill battle of recruiting police officers for the city.
The police recruitment strategy is difficult in terms of retention, competition and attrition.
Wes Decker, Communications Officer from the City of Hagerstown, talked about the work session this morning on First News.
“Quite frankly (there’s) not a lot of help recently from the legislature in the state of Maryland (either),” Decker said.
It’s tough to get police officers and keep police officers.
Additionally, with the spotlight on actions of police officers and the chance that a serious mistake could result in a lawsuit, how can any department expect to recruit people for the job?
Decker talked with Kifer in a Council Wrap session following the meeting where the chief expressed frustrations at the politics that goes into making decisions and the fact that those who are making those calls have never actually been in the field of police work.
The entire work session, including details from the general budget and the expansion of the fire department facility on South Potomac Street, as well as the Council Wrap with Chief Kifer can be found here:
