Phoenix police recruit in Cleveland; Weather, money are main draws for potential hires
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Phoenix Police Department hosted a recruiting event at a Downtown Cleveland hotel Saturday hoping to attract new recruits during a nationwide staffing shortage.
“Our metrics show right now that these applicants out in the Midwest are kind of flirting with our website, clicking on our social media‚” said Sgt. Brad Rebic of Phoenix police’s hiring and recruiting department. “We wanted to expand our applicant pool and try to find the most qualified diverse pool that we could find.”
So they set up shop inside the Ohio Marriot Key Tower in Cleveland to pitch their department to aspiring police officers currently living in Northeast Ohio.
It was the warmer Phoenix weather that enticed Clevelander Tania Martin to apply.
However, for many others, it came down to money.
“Cleveland, they just don’t pay as well,” said Logan Roth, a Cleveland resident.
19 News found that while starting salaries in Phoenix and Cleveland are comparable, $52,000 and $54,855 respectively, the Pheonix is offering a $7,500 hiring bonus plus a $6,500 tuition reimbursement per year.
“Not enough room for advancement, not enough incentives,” said Timothy Thompson, a Canton resident who was applying to become a Phoenix police officer.
Some said the politics around policing in the Cleveland area also gave them pause.
Issue 24 passed in Cleveland. It’s a proposed amendment that would change how the city’s police department operates with a civilian-led board.
“It just passed so I really have no opinion about if it’s good or bad, yet on paper it doesn’t seem like it’s the best thing with the citizen review board overseeing police matters,” said Roth. “I mean their opinion does matter. We do serve the community, but I don’t know if they would be the best to oversee the police officers in terms of protocols.”
But to these aspiring officers, they just want to do the job they’re signing up for all while getting the pay they deserve.
“I feel like if what I’m doing — if it can reach one other person then that one other person reaches another person...” said Thompson.
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