2026 Police Recruiting Tuneup!

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Has your police recruiting been limping along like a cruiser with 200,000 miles on it?  😩

Yeah, that’s typically what happens as budgets get tight, staff gets burnt out, and your recruiting starts running on fumes.  😓

Here’s the good news…I’ve got an easy to implement tune up that will get your recruiting back on track fast here in the new year.…you ready for it? Keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and this week, let’s give that recruitment plan of yours a little tune up, shall we?  A brand new year somehow always finds a way to start exposing weaknesses in your police recruiting as you simply continuing doing the same thing you were doing the year prior, which is why it’s the perfect time for you to tighten things up, fix what isn’t working, and get things moving again so you’re not carrying last year’s problems into this year. 🚀

Here are 5 police recruiting tune ups designed to help you avoid exactly that and will help you get things moving in the right direction quickly…

#1.  Re-ignite your police recruiting social media

This is the time of year when most agencies are still recovering from the holidays, which is exactly why you should be hitting the gas and speeding things up with your social media posts! 💨

There’s a large group of people who are ready to work on those new year’s resolutions of theirs and the time to reach them and attract them to your agency…is right now.  💯 

Here’s your tune up: continue making social media posts daily. Show the awesome people at your agency doing the job and doing it well.  Showcase new hires, promotions, events you are at, and most importantly your job openings.  Stop assuming people know that you’re hiring and tell them! 🗣️

#2.  Refresh Your “Now Hiring” Presence on Your Website

If you want to see more Police Officer applications in your inbox, you’re going to have to make it as easy as possible for people to find the application on your website.  Even if you feel it is totally obvious now, like that little box in the top corner…or the pop-up circle in the bottom right listen to me…if it’s not smack dab right in the middle of people’s faces, they’re going to miss it. 🙈

Here’s the tune up: add a simple ‘now hiring’ banner across the top of your homepage large and in charge for all to see.  The banner should feature smiling faces, some alliteration of the words ‘now hiring’, ‘Police Officers’, and ‘click to apply’ and should obviously lead directly to your application. 🔗

Stop burying your application in a maze of webpages and get people straight to what they came for with one click. 🎯

#3.  Re-engage Your Existing Applicants

You wanna know what one of the most common complaints agencies hear from applicants over and over again when asked what they’d improve about their process?  Communication.  In fact, I just had a friend going through a process with a nearby agency and when I asked him about it, he told me that the radio silence for weeks and weeks was the biggest thing killing him. 😫

You want to make sure the people in your process stay in your process? 👇

Here’s your tune up: Send a quick email to everyone in your process this week. 

If they are just applicants, thank them for applying.  Remind them when testing is.  Give them some tips for success.  If they’re in your background process…update them as to where they’re at in your process and give them some timelines on what’s next.  Trust me…people won’t care that there are delays…but just like with my friend…the not knowing is what will have them looking elsewhere. 🔭   

#4.  Lock In Your Testing Process

January is here and with it a slew of ‘new year, new career’ slogans that will have people applying for jobs all over the place.  The time to capitalize on that for you too…is right now. 🕑

Here’s your tune up: lock in testing dates for early 2026.  You may even want to offer a couple of them in February or March to try and catch as many resolutioners as possible. 🧲

If you can pull off an all-in-one day testing event where applicants show up once and complete all of the initial testing right then and there…do it!  Get your staff assigned, in place, and on the same page now for a smoother testing day later. 😎

#5. Ensure the Background Process is Fast, Friendly, and Welcoming

Listen, by the time an applicant actually reaches backgrounds, they’re exhausted and they’ve already jumped through a ton of hoops for you.  This can leave them feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, and especially if they’ve had a bad experience elsewhere…very nervous and wondering if your agency is right for them. 😟

Here’s your tune up: make sure backgrounds is the most applicant-friendly part of your whole process.  Be flexible with your scheduling.  Stay in communication with your applicant at a minimum of at least once every two weeks.  And ensure that every contact an applicant has during this stage is friendly, welcoming, organized, and respectful.  Applicants should feel that you’re actually happy for them to be there.  If you yell at them, ignore them, or act as if they have to prove something to you…they’re going to be out of there the first chance they get.  👋 

All right…put your recruitment process through these easy tune ups over the next month and a half or so and let me know how they worked for you.  I’ve got a pretty good feeling you’re gonna have great news for me. 🙌

Now…need some more easy to implement plans to help get your recruiting headed in the right direction?  My Road to Better Recruiting online training course is open right now and will absolutely change your police recruiting forever.  See everything you’re going to learn on my website by visiting forcopstraining.com/rtbr. 

Have a friend at another agency whose recruiting has been sputtering lately?  Share this newsletter with them so they can get the benefits of a quick tune up as well!  Trust me, they’ll be stoked that you did and I’d appreciate it too. 🤝

Have more questions about police recruiting, marketing, or anything else you're struggling with? Don't hesitate to reach out...I’m always here to help. 🙏

Until next week my Police Marketing Squad, happy recruiting! 😃

Tom

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👋 I’m Tom Sye, your Police Marketing FTO. I founded ‘For Cops’ Training to teach Police Departments how to attract more qualified candidates through the same tried and tested methods I’ve used for the past ten years at my own department to keep up with turnover and stay ahead of vacancies.

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