Phoenix Police begins hiring process for 100 openings

PHOENIX — Starting this month, the Phoenix Police Department will be accepting applications for police officer recruits.

“This isn’t a job, this is a calling, this is a very strong calling,” Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia said.

The department has not hired any new officers since 2009. Now it plans to hire 100 officers each year for the next three years.

“The areas where the Phoenix Police department needs more help is high visibility presence,” he said. That means more patrol officers, he said, but also other areas.

“And while I’ll tell you our investigators do a terrific job, we need more detectives,” he said.

However, around 75 officers retire each year. The addition of the 300 officers won’t help the department reach the officer levels of 2009, which was over 3,000. So is it a wash?

“The Phoenix Police Department right now has a crime reduction in violent crime, in property crime, and in over-all crime,” Garcia said. “So folks, that’s not a wash, that’s our folks doing their job.”

Application requirements are listed on the police website.