After years of staffing challenges, the Phoenix Police Department is showing measurable improvement in recruitment and hiring, even as attrition – particularly among new recruits and retirement-eligible veterans – continues to complicate efforts to rebuild the force.
But despite the optimistic report submitted last week to City Council’s Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee, officials also said the department still has over 500 empty positions, mostly in patrol.
The report shows that application numbers, hiring totals and academy retention all improved in 2025, marking a sharp contrast with recent years when Phoenix struggled to keep pace with retirements and resignations.
As of Oct. 31, Phoenix police had 2,637 filled sworn positions, including recruits, against an authorized target of 3,125 officers, leaving the department several hundred officers short of full strength.
“We are seeing positive momentum in recruitment and retention,” the report states, “but there is more work to be done to meet operational demands and stabilize staffing levels long term.”
Recruitment activity in 2025 significantly outpaced 2024, according to the report.
Monthly application totals ranged from 393 to 518 applications through October, compared with 175 to 428 per month during the same period last year.
Police officials attributed the increase to more proactive recruitment strategies, expanded outreach and improvements in the hiring pipeline.
“This upward trend reflects the positive impact of more efficient recruitment strategies and expanded outreach efforts,” the department reported.
The department has also seen growth across all gender categories, including what officials described as “particularly strong growth” in female applicants and a modest increase among applicants who chose not to disclose gender.
Through Oct. 31, the department hired 223 sworn officers in 2025, far surpassing 2024’s total. Women made up 23 of those hires, compared with 22 women hired during all of 2024 – a small but notable improvement in a department where female representation has long lagged national goals.
Even so, police officials acknowledged that recruiting women remains a challenge.
“While progress has been made, staff understand there is more work to be done in bringing women into the organization,” the report states.
Phoenix officials highlighted renewed efforts tied to the national 30×30 Initiative, which aims to increase the representation of women in policing to 30% by 2030.
Department leaders recently met with Dr. Tanya Meisenholder, director of gender equity for the Policing Project at NYU School of Law, who praised Phoenix’s social media, marketing and recruiting practices while encouraging greater visibility at women-focused job fairs and expos.
That guidance helped lead to a new partnership with the Mayor’s Women’s Commission, which connected police recruiters with the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation Career Fair – which the department said it may not have traditionally attended.
The fair resulted in meaningful conversations with 30 women exploring law enforcement careers, and officials said five remain in active contact with recruiters and have expressed strong interest in joining the department.
To strengthen those efforts, the department announced that Commander Julie Egea will lead Phoenix’s 30×30 initiative.
The initiative will now report directly to Police Chief Michael Giordano, signaling what the report described as a heightened level of commitment from department leadership.
Despite improved hiring, attrition continues to undercut overall staffing gains, a pattern Phoenix police have faced for years amid changing labor markets, heightened public scrutiny and an aging workforce.
In 2025, monthly separations ranged from 17 to 53 officers, peaking in August. The data revealed two critical pressure points: officers leaving within their first year of service and those exiting after becoming retirement eligible.
A total of 41 officers left with less than one year of service, while 45 officers with 21 to 25 years and 38 officers with more than 26 years retired.
“Early career attrition often reflects challenges in adjusting to the demands of the role, while late-career attrition reflects retirement eligibility,” the report notes.
To better understand why officers leave, Phoenix’s Organizational Integrity Bureau will now conduct exit interviews and analyze early warning indicators such as excessive overtime, sick leave use and other stressors linked to burnout or early retirement.
By combining exit interviews with internal data, department leaders say they hope to identify new ways to improve wellness and retention.
One of the report’s most encouraging findings came from the Field Training Officer (FTO) program, where retention has improved substantially.
The retention rate for officers in training rose from 72.9% in 2024 to 91.3% year-to-date in 2025, a jump the department credited to better preparation and support during the early stages of employment.
Between 2022 and 2025, 356 recruits remained active as sworn officers, while 25 transitioned into non-sworn roles and 64 separated. The most common reasons for separation included unmet requirements, voluntary withdrawal and family obligations.
“These insights underscore the importance of looking for opportunities to better prepare and support recruits during the early stages of employment,” the report states.
Phoenix police also benchmarked their hiring process against large peer cities including Houston and San Antonio, selected for their similar population size and geographic footprint.
As of October 2025, Phoenix’s average hiring timeline stood at 130 days, with some candidates completing the process in as little as 60 days. That compares favorably with the three- to six-month timelines reported by peer agencies.
Key steps—such as background packets, polygraphs, psychological exams and medical screenings—each took between 11 and 33 days, while final review added about 30 days.
While officials said those timelines are commendable, they acknowledged further improvements are possible as the department works to send more recruits to the academy.
Recent internal changes, including automated communication platforms and new case management tools, have helped the department manage growing workloads by shifting administrative tasks to human resources staff, freeing investigators to focus on core duties.
Phoenix police hiring has faced repeated setbacks over the past decade, driven by waves of retirements, competition from suburban agencies, national scrutiny of policing and the lingering effects of the pandemic.
This year’s report suggests the department is finally gaining traction—but also underscores the fragility of that progress.
“While challenges remain,” the report concludes, “the department is well-positioned to continue its progress.”
Sustaining that momentum, officials said, will depend on continued investment in recruitment, targeted efforts to bring women into policing, and aggressive retention strategies aimed at keeping both new officers and experienced veterans on the job.
For now, Phoenix police leaders say they are cautiously optimistic—meeting today’s demands while trying to rebuild a workforce capable of carrying the city into the next decade.