CLEVELAND — Mayor Frank Jackson swore in 34 new officers to the Cleveland Police Department on Friday as the department is encountering a staffing shortage within the ranks.
Jackson swore in the class outside of City Hall on Friday.
“Public service is an honorable profession, but it is not made for everyone,” Jackson told the recruits before swearing them in. “Everyone cannot do what you are about ready to swear to do. But those who are able to do it and do it well have the greatest opportunity to impact the lives of individual families in communities.”
Police Chief Calvin Williams welcomed the new officers to the force.
“This is a great, great profession,” said Williams, “but you have to make it that way. You are the future of this division and this city. As we know, a police agency can make or break a city.”
Last week, city leaders addressed a shortage in the city’s police and fire departments.
Safety Director Karrie Howard said 187 of the city’s 1,334 patrol officer positions were unfilled.
Police and city officials acknowledged the balancing act between getting trained officers on patrol as soon as possible against fully training officers.
According to the city, officers go through six months of classroom and field training before graduating. The state requires 737 hours of training, or nearly 19 weeks of training at 40 hours a week.
Addressing Williams last week, Council Member Basheer Jones said, “I understand your frustration. We say we want more police but then we also complain barbers have more hours [of training] than police officers. At the same time, you have officers driving… cars with bald tires and cars have over 200,000 miles on them.”
Ohio requires barbers to undergo 1,800 hours of training before certification.
The city is accepting applications for new patrol officers through Aug. 14.
