SANFORD, Fla. — Hiring and retaining police officers continues to be a nationwide problem, according to the Florida Police Chiefs Association. On Tuesday, Spectrum News 13 reported ongoing negotiations between Sanford and the local police union, where leaders claim low wages are causing officers to leave.

What You Need To Know

  •  Sanford Police Department has 12 vacancies 

  •  A local police union claims officers are leaving due to poor pay and benefits 

  •  Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith says officers leaving is a national problem

  • Smith says they are actively trying to hire as many officers as possible 

Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith shared that with some recent hires, the number of vacancies here at the department now sits at 12. He believes it is not a problem they are dealing with alone.

“You know, years ago you joined law enforcement for the purpose of serving and protecting people in the community, but now it is become an issue of who is going to pay the most and we’ve seen that. We’ve become victims of that, as well as many of the other law enforcement agencies around our country and around our general area,” said Smith. 

Smith also says it is a tough time to hire and keep police officers. 

“Many of these officers have made the decision that it is going to be about the money and they go to locations where they are going to pay them better,” he said. 

The chief and the City of Sanford are in the process of negotiations with the local police union, which argues Sanford PD pays 18% less than other agencies in the area. The chief acknowledges they pay less.

“Where we sit is closer to the lower end, but at the same time, the goal of these negotiations is to make sure our officers are comfortable and that they are being paid the best salary that we can possibly pay them without it causing any undo or necessities on our community as a whole,” he said. 

Chief Smith said that while they have a $20 million dollar budget, they still have to budget for things like equipment and training that the officers themselves ask for.

“But all of those things, it all costs money and so we have to be a good steward of the funds that we have,” said Smith. 

Chief Smith says they are not the only department dealing with this, as things have changed in recent years.

“I remember some almost 40 years ago, where people would stand for hours and hours and hours to get a job or 13 positions when you have 500 or 600 people applying for it,” he said. “That is not today. Society has changed so much that there are fewer and fewer people who want to stand in the gap and make a difference.”

Now, he says they are using bonuses and other incentives to do their best to get people to work in Sanford.

“It is our goal to do our best to try and get as many people engaged in wanting to be that individual — that person from the community who wants to be a part of making a change,” said Smith. 

Chief Smith explained that although they are down a dozen officers, there will never be a time where there is not an officer or Seminole County deputy to respond to an emergency in Sanford because of other resources like mutual aid.