Burbank police add officer, three recruits as part of plan to address staffing shortage

Roughly two months into a two-year recruitment plan to resolve the Burbank Police Department’s staffing shortage, the agency has hired one police officer and three recruits, two of whom have started the academy.

Numbers-wise, the agency broke even, having lost three officers who either retired or resigned, but officials will offer three more rounds of tests this year, each of which will include written and physical agility exams as well as an oral interview. During the last testing cycle, which closed May 6, the agency received 343 applications.

Even with a couple dozen officers eligible to retire, Burbank Police Lt. Eric Deroian said he’s confident the agency, striving to fill about a dozen vacancies, will be fully staffed by the end of the year. On average, he said, the department loses six or seven sworn employees a year to retirements.

“I feel like we went from behind to turning a corner where we’re now seeing improvements,” said Deroian, who oversees the agency’s recruitment efforts.

Not all of those hires, however, will immediately translate to officers on the street, as police recruits must complete a six-month academy before they can start working. Four of the seven recruits currently in the academy are slated to graduate next month.

Law enforcement agencies statewide are struggling to fill their ranks as they compete for applicants, interest in the profession wanes amid high-profile shooting cases and better-funded departments offer incentives others cannot.

In Burbank, the shortage means police officials regularly fill patrol shifts on an overtime basis to meet minimum staffing requirements, while some who’ve been promoted cannot yet fully assume their new duties.

Along with offering more frequent testing cycles, the agency’s $650,000 recruitment plan also includes targeting people who serve in the military, boosting the department’s presence at college recruitment events — with laptops in hand to let attendees apply on the spot — and hiring more cadets to feed into officer positions.

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alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek