Police topped their hiring goal with 378 officers last year, but departures climbed to 211

Dallas police hired 378 officers in the budget year that ended Sept. 30, beating a goal of 350, but 211 sworn officers left over the same stretch, up from 176 the year before, according to a year-end report going to the City Council's Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.

The memo from Chief of Public Safety Dominique Artis puts the department's sworn strength at 3,447 officers. The city's long-range target is 4,000.

Applicants and academy classes

The Personnel Division processed 1,391 applicants from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, a 12.09% increase over the 1,241 handled the previous year. Six academy classes started during the year with 317 new hires, and 299 of those recruits were still assigned as of Sept. 30.

The earliest of those classes, which started Jan. 14 with 52 recruits, is set to graduate Nov. 6. The most recent, Class 415, began Sept. 23 with 48 recruits and is scheduled to finish Aug. 5, 2027. The next academy class starts Nov. 4.

More candidates are still in the pipeline: 67 applicants are in background checks, 25 are in final psychological and medical testing, 24 are awaiting chain-of-command review and six have been placed in the coming class.

Looking ahead, the memo lists a hiring target of 700 and a plan for eight academy classes in 2026-27, one of them for lateral hires from other agencies, with 50 to 60 recruits each.

Why officers left

Retirements were the largest single reason for departures, at 75. The report also lists 33 officers who left for personal reasons, 22 who transferred within the city or into civilian jobs, 20 who went to other public safety or government agencies, 18 who did not complete academy or field training and 14 terminations. Departures peaked at 27 in December 2025 and 25 in August 2026.

The 911 center had its own turnover. Communications services recorded 42 separations and 25 hires for the year. The department lost 18 entry-level 911 call analysts and hired 16, and lost eight entry-level police dispatchers while hiring two.

Recruiting push

In September alone, recruiters worked eight career events, including stops at Globe Life Field and a military hiring fair, 12 college visits in Texas and Oklahoma, and three community events, among them the State Fair of Texas. The memo also cites an Indeed hiring campaign, ESPN-targeted ads and social media posts that drew 127,230 views.

The memo credits expanded recruiting for the higher applicant numbers and says continued attention to hiring, retention and training success will matter as the department works toward 4,000 officers.

The committee, chaired by council member Gay Donnell Willis, meets at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers on the sixth floor of City Hall and by videoconference. Its agenda also includes the monthly violent crime reduction update, a domestic violence update, an annual emergency management briefing and a presentation from the City Attorney's Office on criminal nuisance properties.

Sources

dallascityhall.com

webapi.legistar.com