CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is sharing details on his plan to recruit and retrain police officers as new data shows fewer people are taking the exam to join law enforcement agencies statewide.
Stein's office says there were 506 fewer recruits who took the basic law enforcement training exam last year than in 2019. That's on top of the increase in retirements and resignations affecting police agencies across the state.
Stein is now proposing a $23 million package that would assist in various recruitment strategies he says should help personnel shortages statewide. The proposal includes hiring bonuses and a public awareness recruitment campaign. Stein also wants to fund education fellowships and has a proposal that would allow retired officers to return to the job.
The recruiting campaign would focus on out-of-state officers in an attempt to lure them to North Carolina, Stein said.
"We don't want to take from Greensboro to go to Winston-Salem," Stein said. "We won't pay a state bonus for that. But if we can take an officer from Florida or New York to North Carolina, we will pay a bonus for that, and of course, we want to incentivize young people to get into the profession."
Wake Up Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at Wake Up Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || TuneIn || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.