Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

County police welcome 52 recruits; officials say authorized strength will reach 415 for first time since 2014

5739646 · September 9, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

County police officials told the New Castle County Public Safety Committee Sept. 9 that a class of 52 recruits should bring the department to its authorized strength of 415 and enable expansion of community initiatives.

New Castle County officials told the Public Safety Committee Sept. 9 that a newly sworn class of recruits should return the county police department to its authorized staffing level for the first time since 2014 and allow officials to expand community-engagement and behavioral-health initiatives.

Colonel Jamie Leonard, chief of police, said the department welcomed 52 recruits to its police academy and that the county executive authorized over-hiring to compensate for an expected washout rate. “Yesterday morning at 7AM, we welcomed 52 new recruits to our police academy,” Leonard said. He estimated the department’s on-paper employment at 423 with an authorized strength of 415 and said a 10–12% wash rate would still leave the department at authorized strength after…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans