DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — In an effort to keep enough police officers on the streets of DeKalb County, the department is planning on offering a nearly 9% pay hike for police recruits.

County CEO Michael Thurmond and Police Chief Mirtha Ramos, said that their number one priority is to keep residents.

“We must protect the people who live and work and play in our community,” Thurmond said. “In order to do it, we have to increase the number of men and women who are serving us in the police department.”

Ramos said DeKalb, like other county police departments, are having trouble recruiting and retaining officers, so the pay hike will help in both areas.

“We’re going from $50,500 as a starting salary to $55,000 and if you’re a lateral officer, meaning you’re certified, you’re going from $54,500 to $59,194, so it’s a significant increase.”

Officers that are already with the department will get a 5% raise.

Ramos wanted to be clear that existing DeKalb officers, through long hours and dedication, have been working hard to keep DeKalb safe. But more officers translates to safe streets and the department is currently shorthanded, a situation Ramos helps new pay increases will help fix.

Ramos said the county is authorized to have 798 officers on the force, but they currently have just 574.

“We are experiencing a shortage, and while we continue to do our jobs, we really just want to make sure that the community feels safe,” Ramos said.

A comparison Thurmond provided suggests DeKalb’s new police recruit starting rate compares favorably to the cities of Charlotte, North Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Norfolk, Virginia. All but Norfolk have a significantly larger population than DeKalb County.

Thurmond said they’re searching for new officers outside of Georgia.

“If we get one officer from Gwinnett, that’s a net increase of zero,” Thurmond said. “We are thinking much more globally about this.”

Ramos said the department is recruiting good candidates from anywhere and everywhere.

“We’re going to recruit nationally and regionally to help metro Atlanta be a safer region,” Thurmond said.

DeKalb police already got two pay increases last year, 6.25% in April and 6.5% in October.

Thurmond said the county is also paying DeKalb police triple overtime right now to keep more officers on the street.

“Unless and until we get more men and women employed with the department, we’re going to have to ask people who are here to work longer hours,” Thurmond said.

Thurmond said the new steps are major, but ultimately it may not be enough because there are not enough qualified people in metro Atlanta who want a career in law enforcement, and hence a major southeast regional recruiting campaign will launch soon.

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