All full-time Detroit police officers, as well as police assistants, will be getting a bonus from the City of Detroit.
City officials said police officers have been leaving the Detroit police force in droves.
They said 19 police officers have already left the force this year, and more than 100 officers left in 2021.
Detroit Police Chief James White said a big factor in why the officers are leaving to work in other police departments is the pay discrepancy: Officers in other areas are paid more.
So White and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced a bonus for all officers.
Each full-time officer who was employed before February 1 will receive a $2,000 bonus. All police assistants will receive a $1,000 bonus.
"It is my hope that this incentive program that is being implemented will curb the alarming number of officers that are leaving. We’re doing a really good job with recruiting, but retention is what we want to emphasize," White said.
White said other departments in the area have been poaching Detroit officers. He said the Warren and Oakland County Sheriff's Department "favors" the Detroit Officers.
"A great majority of police departments hire officers that have already graduated from a police academy class. They may well have had to pay their own tuition to graduate from that class," Duggan said. "In the City of Detroit, we pay those academy classes."
Detroit officials said it costs around $61,000 to train a city police officer.
White said there are more than 2,000 officers on Detroit's police force. The City of Detroit is in the midst of contract negotiations with its officers. The current contract expires July 1.
