Ohio looks to remedy law enforcement shortages with new online tool, campaign

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A new online tool and campaign announced by state officials aims to assist law enforcement agencies with recruitment efforts as a local official says Columbus police is struggling to fill positions. 

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and the director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Andy Wilson, announced a new website this month, powered by OhioMeansJobs.com, that allows the state’s over 900 law enforcement agencies to post their job openings in one place. 

The goal is to connect new recruits with immediate job openings. The portal was created through a partnership between InnovateOhio, the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

"Our law enforcement agencies are struggling to fill their essential positions, which are crucial for safe communities," Husted said. "This specialized recruitment tool will give them a recruiting edge and save them time and money."

The tool also allows prospective recruits to search for jobs by agency and county, as well as by current location from police departments, sheriff’s offices, park districts and state agencies. 

In addition to the recruitment website, the state has launched a marketing campaign called “Join the Blue” to encourage residents to explore a career in law enforcement. The campaign directs individuals to connect with the Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment within the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

“If you have a lack of police officers, who is going to be impacted?” said Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Steel, who supervises the lodge for central Ohio. “It's the community we serve. These are people calling 911, having domestic violence, having car accidents, all the realities of our city; they're waiting longer for an officer to get there.”

Steel, who is a lieutenant with Columbus police, said the department is among the law enforcement agencies in the state struggling to hire officers. A February 2024 study named Columbus as the fastest-growing city in the United States, leaving police to catch up with population growth.

“They're absolutely not keeping up, but it's not to their fault right now,” Steel said. “I think the recruiting team is doing their absolute best. They just have an uphill battle and it's not going to get better anytime soon.”

Steel said the department is working to fill positions through hiring events and cutting down the amount of time it takes to become an officer. He points to widespread police criticisms and civil unrest in 2020 after the death of George Floyd – and Columbus leaders' response to it – as a potential reason the department is struggling with recruitment.

“The mayor said we were a racist, rogue police department and called for reform,” Steel said. “We want officers to reflect the communities they serve and it is very difficult to get an officer, let alone a minority officer, because of the scar tissue and how police were vilified in 2020 in this city by its own leadership.” 

Steel said he believes city leaders’ comments caused long-lasting harm and that it is going to take about 10 years for the negative perceptions of Columbus police to fade away. Mayor Andrew Ginther told NBC4 he is “really proud” of his comments during that time.

“I think the people of this community understand that systemic racism exists everywhere,” Ginther said. “We have to acknowledge it exists, then we have to own the remedy. That’s what we’ve done in this community is put in place historic reforms for transparency, oversight, accountability, while investing a number of resources into officers.”

The Columbus Division of Police had 1,866 officers in 2020, 1,819 officers in 2021, 1,827 officers in 2022 and 1,884 officers in 2023, statistics provided by Columbus police from Dec. 15 of each year show. 

From 2020 to 2023, Columbus’ population grew by 6,747 people, from 906, 418 to 913,175, according to statistics from the Census Population Estimates Program, which are recorded as of July 1 of each year.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police states a universally applicable staffing standard does not exist. How many police officers a law enforcement agency should employ depends on factors such as officer availability and workloads, according to the Center for Public Safety Management.

Steel said in 2024, elected officials and the public have begun publicly supporting police officers again, which he believes may help in solving staffing challenges. 

Husted emphasized that the website is just one of multiple recent tools from the DeWine-Husted administration to “bolster the ranks” of law enforcement agencies in the state, pointing to the distribution of approximately $100 million to first responders since the Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention, and Resilience Program launched in 2022.