PHOENIX (AZFamily) — As Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano begins his tenure , recruitment and retention will be a major task in the months and years to come.

Out of 3,125 sworn positions the department anticipates having as outlined in the budget through July 2025, only 2,500 sworn positions are filled, with 135 recruits on top of that.

“We have some squads in more busy areas of town where we’ve got four and five officers when historically we’ve had 10 to 12 officers in that squad area,” said Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Darrell Kriplean.

Kriplean says the 2020 protests and public perception of police officers hurt departments all over the country, including in Phoenix, when it came to recruiting.

But a new report from Phoenix Police on recruitment, hiring, and

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