More funding requested by Knoxville Police as successful recruiting efforts bolster ranks
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Knoxville has 12 new police officers following the latest cadet class graduation ceremony on Thursday. The police department has more help coming as the current recruit class that started training in January is more than triple the size of tonight's graduating class.
We have reported on agency's effort to bolster its ranks in recent years, which has proved to be a challenge at times. Over the last couple of years, Chief Paul Noel and department have been working to increase their reach for attracting new recruits. They are now pulling in people from across the country to fill positions needed within the department.
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Noel told 6 News that with more recruits comes the need for more money.
'It's a good problem to have that we are needing to ask for more funds to outfit our recruits because we are adding new recruits everyday,' Noel said. 'We have 40 recruits in our academy right now. We are interviewing 57 people for our class in May and we are going to be interviewing probably an even bigger group of people for a class that is going to start in September.'
During city budget hearings, KPD requested roughly $1.6 million of additional funding. $456,000 of which would be used on gear for new recruits like a uniform, ballistic vests, firearms, tasers and gas masks. Noel said they are roughly 60 officers short of being fully staffed, another reason for a huge push in recruitments.
'We are fully staffed at 416 and we have a lot of officers that are eligible to retire just like I talked about in my remarks, 30 years or more, that are starting to leave the department,' Noel said. 'That's why it's so important for us to bring new officers in, get them trained and get them out on the streets to keep our city safe.'
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We are told from the time a recruit starts to the time they become a solo officer is close to a year. Noel said in the last couple of years, officers have gotten raises to make it more enticing to join the department. He added within the next couple of years, the department will look a lot different.
'For anyone out there that is considering a career with the Knoxville Police Department, you better start thinking about it soon because we are really starting to fill this place up,' Noel added. 'In 2026 and beyond we are really going to start running much smaller classes because our recruiting efforts are really going so great.'
In addition to the $457,000 the department is asking for in funding for recruits gear, they are asking for $440,000 to help cover expenses with their co-response program alongside the McNabb Center.
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Thursday was the final day of Mayor Indya Kincannon's budget hearings. We will learn about Kincannon's budget proposal at her State of the City address on April 25. Her request then goes to City Council with those leaders discussing the budget in May ahead of a June 15 deadline to approve a budget.
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