By Bill Carey
Police1
DALLAS — Dallas will soon begin to pay veteran police officers a one-time payout of $40,000 if they stay on the job for another two years to reduce attrition.
Officers who have at least 28 years of service would be eligible for the one-time payouts. Officials believe this will keep at least 70 officers on the force, The Dallas Morning News reported.
“More and more officers are reaching that threshold of being able to afford to leave with their pensions, and they’re deciding to,” Deputy Assistant Chief William Griffith said. “So we’re trying to encourage them to stay with us a little longer because we want that experience and we want that seniority.”
At the beginning of March, the department had 3,058 officers, according to police data. Griffith said 220 officers are eligible for the incentive.
The incentive program is expected to start in May and comes as the department fell short 50 officers of its goal to hire 250 new officers in the last fiscal year. The department also lost approximately 30 more officers than the 205 anticipated departures.
To get the money, officers have to work at least 444 days over the two-year span. Overtime is not counted. Times when an officer must go on leave due to unforeseen health or family circumstances would be cases where the two-year limit could be extended.