Stockton police adds 10 new recruits as department looks to fill 72 vacancies
The Stockton Record
This week, the Stockton Police Department introduced 10 new officer trainees as the department looks to hire and retain more staff.
Police Chief Stanley McFadden also introduced the department’s first police aide, Parmeet Sandhu, who is currently attending college to obtain an associate’s degree in criminal justice. She will serve as the city’s representative at events to promote understanding, training, crime awareness and prevention, and other needs relative to community service.
“I’m 18 years old. I would love to be a police officer in a few years,” Sandhu said. “One of my biggest goals is to be a SWAT officer and I’m hoping to reach that goal when I’m older.”
Pedro Lupin, Jr., 27, is a Edison High School graduate who pursued a career in law enforcement so he could make an impact in his community. He shared his story with the crowd inside of the Stewart Eberhardt Building in downtown Stockton on Wednesday.
“I was born and raised in Stockton,” he said. “I want to be an officer for the Stockton Police Department because I want to make a difference in the city that I know best.”
He and Sandhu are just two examples of the recruitment pipeline the department wants to create with local men and women, and colleges. The recruits range in ages from 20 to 27 years old. Many of them are from Stockton or graduates of San Joaquin Delta College or University of the Pacific.
“We’re building that strong bench to where we can have them ready to be a full-time officer,” McFadden said.
A leg-up on the competition
The staffing additions come as the Stockton Police Department has recently struggled with losing officers to nearby cities with better pay.
As of May 1, the department had 353 sworn officers — 72 fewer than the 425 it has budgeted for. Despite the recent hires, the number of sworn officers has continued to decline. The total stood at 364 in June 2023.
In 2023, The Record reported that five nearby agencies — including the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, Elk Grove Police Department, Lathrop Police Department, San Pablo Police Department, and Tracy Police Department — recruited more than 30 Stockton officers in about two years.
This prompted the Stockton City Council to approve a revised version of Measure A — a three-quarter cent transaction and use tax originally passed by voters in 2013 — in December. City officials said the new piece of legislation reprograms the money to go directly back into the Stockton Police Department, and brings compensation for officers to “mid-market” level for comparable cities.
The police chief is hopeful the department will be able to attract new recruits with a $15,000 signing bonus, increased salaries, and retention bonuses.
“We are competitive now,” McFadden said. “With Measure A funding, we’re compensating our folks better. Now I think we’ve got a leg up on everyone because outside of that, we have so much more to offer. We have so many more units that they can be a part of, we have promotional opportunities, we have task force opportunities … we’re the one-stop shop for any crime-fighter’s needs.”