Let the poaching games begin.
Last year, the San Diego Police Department announced it would give an extra $15,000 to officers who leave other departments to work for them. Now the National City Police Department is one-upping even that figure.
National City just approved a $30,000 hiring bonus for police officers. It joins a growing line of police agencies fighting over a shrinking pool of new candidates by poaching proven hires from other departments.
“It makes so much sense," said National City Mayor Ron Morrison.
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Morrison said the bonus was a no-brainer.
It’s the most lucrative of such bonuses for police academy graduates or existing police officers in San Diego County. Morrison said it’s money well-spent, given it costs $75,000 a year to send a new hire to academy.
“And you don’t even know if they’re going to graduate,” said Morrison.
Even if they do, the mayor said graduates still need supervision and training on the job before they’re ready for patrol. A lateral transfer has a much shorter transition.
“You’ve saved probably at least a couple hundred thousand dollars in training to bring up a person from scratch,” said Morrison.
National City police has 83 sworn officer positions.
Right now, the mayor said they have two openings, but a number of retirements are looming — it's problem that’s plagued other agencies.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department recently launched a major ad campaign in hopes of recruiting new blood. The county is short hundreds of deputy positions.
After a wave of unexpected retirements and resignations, San Diego police can relate.
“I know that it seems like we’re really busy," said San Diego Police Lt. Adam Sharki in an interview with NBC 7 regarding last week's wave of random violent crime sprees. "We are. We’re short a couple hundred officers in the City of San Diego.”
There are now seven police agencies in San Diego County offering a lateral hiring bonus, though none are as big as National City’s. Plus, their bonus comes with one of the highest starting officer salaries in the county: from $85,000 to $108,000 a year.
“If you’re paying less," said Morrison. "If you’re farther down on the scale, you’re not going to get the kind of officers you really want.”
Agencies in San Diego County Offering Bonuses
| AGENCY | BONUS AMOUNT | TIMELINE | Who’s Eligible? |
| Chula Vista PD | up to $25,000; +$5,000 moving expenses for out of county | Lateral Transfer | |
| El Cajon PD | up to $5,000 | Applicants referred by EXISTING employee | |
| La Mesa PD | up to $15,000 | $2,000 at hire; $3,000 at end of field training; $5,000 after 2 years with BASIC Post or $10,000 after 2 years with Intermediate/Advanced POST | Lateral Transfer |
| National City PD | up to $30,000 | $10,000 at hiring; $10,000 at end of probation; $10,000 after 2 years | Academy Graduates or Lateral Transfers |
| Oceanside PD | up to $22,000 | $5,000 after Field Training; $2,500 after end of probation; $2,500 after end of probation + 1 year; $2,500 after end of probation + 2 years; $2,500 after end of probation + 3 years; $5,000 for City of Oceanside residents; $2,000 moving allowance | Lateral Transfer |
| San Diego PD | up to $15,000 | $5,000 at hiring; $5,000 at end of field training; $5,000 after end of field training + 1 year | Lateral Transfer with 2+ years with CA POST Certificate |
| San Diego Sheriff’s Office | Up to $20,000 + $15,000 moving allowance to SD County | Lateral Transfer |
