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Dallas police and fire recruiting show gains; departments outline next steps to sustain momentum
Summary
Dallas Police Department reported net hiring gains in May and an eight-year staffing high; Dallas Fire-Rescue reported similar hiring momentum and plans for assessment tools and targeted outreach. Council members pressed for details on class sizes, budgets and retention measures.
The Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue told the City Council Public Safety Committee on June 3 that both departments made net hiring gains in May and presented plans they say will sustain recruiting momentum.
Dallas Police Major Polly Ashford, joined by Assistant Chief Israel Herrera, said the department lost 21 officers and hired 43 in May and is at 3,215 sworn officers — “our highest staffing level in eight years,” she said. Year to date the department has lost 108 officers and hired 201. Ashford and Herrera said two remaining academy classes for the fiscal year are expected: class 407 beginning July 16 and class 408 beginning Sept. 24. Social media and on-site recruitment events were cited as leading applicant sources.
Why it matters: The staffing numbers are central to council plans to restore patrol and investigative capacity; several council members praised the hiring but pressed for assurance that academy class sizes and graduation numbers will produce the department’s fiscal-year hiring goal.
Details: Ashford said class 407 had roughly 25 students in late May and the department expects larger class sizes, saying recent on-site hiring events drew about 65–70 people. Committee members asked whether the next two academy classes could deliver the remaining hires needed to meet the department’s target; Herrera said he expects to exceed the 300-officer hiring goal for the fiscal year.
Dallas Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Delridge Williams and Deputy Chief Steven Lopez said DFR lost seven members and hired 44 in May; for the fiscal year they reported 86 separations and 197 hires. Williams said DFR has 337 people in its training pipeline — including 43 in the academy, about 50 in EMT/paramedic training and 45 in probationary operations — and projects to be fully staffed in the field in November when a class graduates.
DFR said it will pause new applications for the next fiscal year because it already has hundreds of applicants in process and will use a situational judgment test and personality inventory (commercial, APA-standard instruments) to replace the structured interview for firefighter candidates. Williams said the tests are intended to provide objective ranking and to flag behavioral risks that can be addressed with support resources.
Council reaction and next steps: Council members repeatedly commended the recruiting teams and asked for follow-up memos on budget items (for example, the recruiting/marketing budget) and on graduation-class yields versus academy start rosters. Members also pressed both departments to develop and report retention strategies — including competitive pay, promotional opportunities, scheduling flexibility and benefits — that would reduce laterals leaving after training.
Ending: Department leaders said they would provide requested follow-up data and continue cross-marketing between DPD and DFR, noting overlap in applicant pools (for example, veterans). Both departments characterized their recent gains as the result of sustained recruiting, outreach and targeted marketing.
