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Police unions and staff warn of experience gap as Tracy hires trainees to fill vacancies
Summary
Police association and department representatives told the council that while trainee hiring and academy sponsorship continue, the department is losing experienced officers to other agencies, lowering overall years of experience and increasing training and supervision burdens.
Representatives of the Tracy Police Officers Association and the Police Managers Association told the council during a required report on vacancies that the city is filling patrol vacancies with academy trainees but losing laterals and seasoned officers to other agencies, producing an experience shortfall that raises operational and liability risks.
What speakers said: Sergeant Josh Pettit (TPOA vice president) presented charts showing the department's age and experience distribution and reported that many patrol officers have less than three years of field experience; he said 50% of assigned patrol officers would have three or fewer years of experience once recent trainees complete field training. He and other officers described a multi'year pattern of departures to other departments, noting that in recent years laterals who once came to Tracy now move to agencies such as Modesto, Alameda and Lodi, reducing institutional knowledge.
Managers'level comments: Luis Mejia, president of the Tracy Police Managers Association, and others described a statewide competitive market for experienced officers and said departments are offering substantial lateral incentives. Both the managers and union officers said training burdens and supervision demands rise as experienced officers leave, and they urged resources and strategies to retain laterals and experienced staff.
Why it matters: The city met a state requirement (Gov. Code 3502.3) to report vacancies and recruitment/retention efforts; council received both the staff report and the unions' presentations. Council members noted the operational consequences of an experience gap and said the issue will be considered during labor negotiations and budget discussions.
Numbers: HR reported the city's vacancy rate averaged about 6.72% across 2024; as of June 1, 2025, citywide vacancies were down to about 4.61%. The police-specific staffing materials summarized that the department has 90 sworn officers within the union bargaining group described in the presentation (numbers excluded management for that tally); multiple hires in 2024 were trainees with limited prior experience.
Next steps: The council accepted the statutorily required vacancy report. Councilmembers asked staff to keep the item in mind during budget and labor negotiations and to consider targeted recruitment and retention incentives for experienced officers (laterals).
