DeSoto chief outlines staffing, recruitment and civil‑service timelines; department nationally accredited

Chief Joe Costa provided staffing numbers, hiring constraints and accreditation context at the town hall.

Costa said the department has 88 budgeted positions and reported 81 filled at the time of his December slide, with about 75 officers typically available on patrol after holding and training assignments. He described a target staffing range of approximately 115–120 officers for the city’s population and operations, and cited a commonly used planning metric of about 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents as a staffing gauge.

Why it matters: stated staffing targets and vacancy numbers are central to the department’s ability to sustain patrol coverage, specialized units and community engagement programs.

On hiring and promotions, Costa described the civil-service process: written exam, physical fitness assessment, background checks and ordered hiring from an eligibility list. He estimated that from exam to a fully fielded officer typically takes on the order of eight months to a year, depending on academy timing and whether a hire is already certified. He also said that promotions under civil service must come from within the department and that employees must meet time-in-rank eligibility rules before promotion exams.

Costa noted that the department is CALEA-accredited—an external, national process that reviews policies and procedures and provides triannual re-accreditation—and said the department uses reserves and volunteers (23 citizens on patrol and eight reserves) to supplement operations.

Ending: Costa said hiring continues and the department is pursuing gradual growth while recognizing budget limits and civil-service constraints.