Clark County law enforcement agencies work on recruiting amid changing attitudesSubscriber Exclusive

When Christopher Douville started his law enforcement career in the mid-2000s in Spokane, hundreds of men and women lined up to take their police entrance test. About 400 people would compete for four to six openings, he said.

“There was a lot of interest in the job back then. There still is, but it’s not the same as it was 20 years ago,” Douville said.

Now a lieutenant at the Vancouver Police Department, Douville oversees recruitment and training. He has his work cut out for him after Vancouver voters earlier this month approved Proposition 5, a property tax hike to add 13 new officers.

A wave of retirements has thinned the ranks of law enforcement, but the profession no longer draws the steady stream of applicants it once did. Burnout and public scrutiny have changed how people view the field.

More than 70 percent of agencies surveyed nationwide reported that recruitment is more difficult now than it was five years ago, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. On average, agencies are operating at 91 percent of their authorized staffing levels, indicating a nearly 10 percent deficit.

Police agencies have struggled with recruitment and retention for some time, according to the association. However, the situation grew even worse in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when retirements increased and widely publicized incidents of police misconduct, such as the murder of George Floyd, led to calls for reforms or defunding police.

Impact of Prop. 5

Vancouver’s passage of Proposition 5 will test how local agencies are adapting to these post-pandemic recruitment challenges. The measure, approved by 54 percent of voters in the Nov. 4 election, is expected to generate $6 million per year over the next six years.

City officials pitched the tax levy to address rising call volumes and slow response times as the Vancouver Police Department tries to keep pace with the city’s population growth.

Currently, four of the department’s 241 sworn positions are vacant, agency spokeswoman Kim Kapp said. That does not include the 13 additional positions from Proposition 5.

While Vancouver’s department has not felt the effects of the national police recruitment crisis as sharply as other agencies, it has been “operating in the red” until this year, Douville said.

The Vancouver Police Department’s expansion means more job openings but not necessarily more recruits applying for them. To attract candidates, Vancouver has leaned on bonuses, lateral incentives and a five-days-on, four- or five-days-off schedule, Douville said. The city is advertising bonuses up to $10,000 for entry-level officers and $25,000 for experienced hires.

“With the population growth comes the need for more police to respond to more intricate calls,” Douville said. “We have not changed our standards for the quality of applicant that we’re looking for, because good police service doesn’t come from just throwing bodies. It’s quality over quantity.”

Other Clark County law enforcement agencies are trying new tactics to boost recruitment.

For the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, recruitment strategies have become more considered, said Sgt. Chris Skidmore, who has overseen recruiting at the sheriff’s office since 2022.

The agency has “ramped up” efforts significantly to reach more potential applicants, he said. This includes hiring bonuses, a new recruitment website, targeted advertisements, career nights, partnering with a recruitment agency and even hiring a full-time recruiter.

This year, the sheriff’s office hired 23 deputies, but 11 vacancies remain. That includes two positions frozen to free up money for hiring bonuses, Skidmore said.

In August, the sheriff’s office asked the Clark County Council for $147,900 to cover mandatory training for newly hired and lateral deputies at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy. The request noted that on some nights, only four deputies were working at a time.

“The landscape has changed hugely,” Skidmore said. “Even though we have more vacancies, we have less applicants.”

Not just in Vancouver

Police departments in Clark County’s small cities also have noticed these changes.

Interest in law enforcement as a career has dropped significantly since the pandemic, said Washougal Police Chief Zane Freschette, who has worked for the agency since 2005.

“We have to work through that as a profession,” Freschette said. “We have people that make mistakes or are bad actors. And rightly so, when those people in uniform do the wrong thing, they come to light, and it tends to erode public trust. It’s up to us to rebuild that trust.”

At the peak of the pandemic, the Washougal Police Department was down more than half the officers needed to be fully staffed, Freschette said. Since then, Washougal has had only a few openings and hasn’t had trouble recruiting, he said. The department is currently fully staffed with 22 officers.

Ridgefield Police Chief Cathy Doriot said community needs have changed since the pandemic, specifically when it comes to mental health.

“After George Floyd, there was a shift in wanting to make sure that we’re getting the right people to assist people in crisis,” Doriot said. “It’s not necessarily always a police function. It’s maybe better suited to someone who is not in uniform, who can get there and assist if the scene is safe and to help — someone who is not an authority figure.”

Doriot said her department has a tough time competing with the recruiting efforts of larger departments that have more resources. Even so, the Ridgefield department is on track to be fully staffed at the end of this year with 19 officers.

Recently, the Ridgefield City Council unanimously approved a 0.1 percent sales tax increase to add more officers, as well as pay for training and new equipment.

“Hopefully, as we move to try to fill those new positions in 2026, we can try and look for those applicants that maybe we wouldn’t traditionally have found in the past,” Doriot said. “How do we reach people to get them interested in coming to work for us?”

The hiring landscape may look different than it did 20 years ago, but departments are finding ways to adapt. Doriot, Skidmore and Douville said the regional law enforcement training academy that opened in Vancouver in 2024 has made a significant difference in the ability to recruit locally.

For Freschette, interacting with the community and creating a supportive workplace has been key.

“I think what has been successful here is building a culture,” Freschette said. “That’s something we can control.”

Skidmore has taken a similar approach, describing the sheriff’s office’s recruitment style as more grassroots. Being honest about the advantages and disadvantages of the work also is important to make sure candidates are a good fit, he said.

“I want people who want to work here and see themselves working here,” Skidmore said. “People may not remember what you tell them, but they’ll remember how you treat them.”