APD Adds 29 New Officers as Lateral Class Graduates
Oct. 16, 2018
Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Mike Geier welcomed 29 new officers to the department as the 20th Lateral Class graduated today.
The lateral class represents the first phase of APD’s new recruitment pipeline. Another 34 cadets are expected to graduate from the training academy in December.
“This lateral class puts qualified officers on the ground immediately, which will help us sustain the progress we’ve made over the past year at tackling crime from all sides,” Mayor Keller told the graduating class. “And it’s just the start of a ‘New APD’ that will be fully staffed and ready to work with the community to address our challenges.”
“We are on our way to hiring at least 100 new officers over the next year. I think we will exceed that expectation. Just as important, we have a pipeline in place to continue our aggressive recruitment efforts throughout my term, and add 100 officers in each of the next four years.”
Chief Geier said APD will benefit from the combination of lateral transfers and new recruits.
“We created a thoughtful and comprehensive strategy to rebuild APD by recruiting and training new officers, reaching out to officers with experience in other agencies, and incentivizing existing officers to commit to staying here,” Chief Geier.
A status report of APD’s Recruiting efforts can be found on APD’s web site.