Police Recruiting Insight: How to Recruit Like It's 2026!

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If police recruiting feels way more confusing than it should right now, relax, you’re not imagining things. 😵‍💫

Between new social media platforms, new recruiting tools, and new people promising they’ve cracked the code to fix it all for you, it’s easy to feel like you’re missing the boat and supposed to be doing something different. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️

Let me make this simple for you.  Recruiting hasn’t gotten harder.  It’s just gotten noisier. 📢

The good news is…I can help you cut through that noise with my simple three step plan that will have you recruiting like it’s 2026 in no time...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and this week, let's get you on track. 🎯

Look, if you’ve been involved in recruiting for any amount of time, you’ve undoubtedly been hit up by some salesperson from some outside recruiting company telling you all about their proprietary system or product that’s gonna solve your recruiting crisis by getting you so many applicants you’re not even going to believe it. 🙄

Listen, I’ve been around marketing in one form or another for almost three decades and I’m in my thirteenth year of police recruiting.  Here’s what my experience can tell you…unbelievable new products will come and go, trends will take you all over the place, and tools to 'help' will constantly evolve and be pitched to you. 🗣️

But…lost in the mix of all the new technology, gadgets, fancy websites, expensive recruiting videos, billboard campaigns, proprietary applicant generation systems and all the other nonsense being thrown your way…is the fact that police recruiting today, at its core, is no different than it’s always been. 😎

And if you want to be successful in recruiting like it’s 2026…you have to master these three very simple steps…  

1.  Meet your applicants where they’re at

Let’s imagine, just for one second, you’re the kind of person who’s always wanted to catch a sailfish.  One of those giant ones you see displayed on the walls of high-rise offices.  I mean a majestic creature captured from the sea with your line and reel. 🐟️

Now…would you go to a creek in West Virginia, a muddy river in Ohio, or a lake in Minnesota to catch one?  No…you’d hit the ocean where they’re at! 🙌

It’s the same concept for your police recruiting.  The problem you’re having with attracting applicants is that you think that basic job fairs, airport advertisements, or a modern website are the ocean.  😳

To solve this, you need to be where your applicants are hanging out.  Let me save you a ton of time here…your applicants are on social media and they’re there all the time. 💯          

2.  Build a relationship with them

Ok, now that you know where your applicants are hanging out…it’s time to start reeling them in.  🎣

How do you do that? 🤔

The same way you always have…you build a relationship with them. 🤝

Now…just because you’re talking to them online and not face to face like once upon a time doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish this.  It’s actually quite easy as younger generations are already used doing exactly this all online.  They’ve been doing it their whole life. 📲  

From replying to comments, chatting it up in direct messages, to even liking posts from those you’re trying to attract, the relationship building process, just like in real life, takes some effort.  But also, just like in real life…it’s totally worth it. 🏆️

3.  Show them that people like them, work for you

Now...there’s a big difference between having a fish on a hook and actually getting it onto your boat…and if you want to land that prized applicant of yours, this is how you do it. 👇

Let me make this as plain as I can…

When it comes to police recruiting...you’re not recruiting cops. 😯

Your recruiting people. 🤯

So, all of that stuff, that we as cops, think is really cool and will definitely attract applicants, actually have little to no effect on people in terms of them making the huge life changing decision to become a police officer or not. 😑

The key is to penetrate that three-hundred-thousand-year-old software running inside all of our heads and tap into the power of people like me.  When an applicant believes that people just like them work for your agency…they jump out of the water themselves and right into your boat. It's how we're wired as human beings. 🧠

Now here’s the part I really want you to hear for your police recruiting...

None of this is complicated. And it doesn’t cost you a thing.  But it does require confidence to do it consistently. 📈

That confidence does not come from copying other agencies or chasing the next big thing. It comes from understanding why these things work and how to apply them intentionally. 🤘

That is exactly what my Road to Better Recruiting course is designed to help you do. It gives you clarity, confidence, and direction so you can stop guessing and start doing things on purpose. 💪

If you are ready to build a recruiting approach that actually fits today’s world, check out my course at www.forcopstraining.com/rtbr and get  your agency recruiting like it’s 2026! 🚀

Have a friend at another agency who could really benefit from this simple three step plan?  Share this newsletter with them so they can learn too!  Remember, the future of our profession depends on us all working together.  🤝

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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