San Diego Police Department Sends Letter to Ask Ex-Officers to Return

In an effort to bolster its diminished ranks, the San Diego Police Department sent a letter to former officers earlier this month, asking them to return and enticing them with financial incentives.

According to KNSD-TV, the letter asked officers to "be part of the police department that is dedicated to serving and collaborating with our community." Returning officers also would see a 5% salary increase this year and next.

Since the past fiscal year, over 240 officers have left the San Diego Police Department, an increase of more than half over the previous year. Nearly 140 police officers have left the department in 2023.

"This is the worst period I have ever seen in my four decades of being in the police profession," said Paul Cappitelli, a retired San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department captain and police practices expert.

Cappitelli doesn't think the letter will have much of an effect on San Diego's police shortage. He called the effort a “band-aid” approach that doesn't address larger issues.

"My sense is they are not going to have a ground swell of people that are going to say 'Great, I am going to come back for an extra 5% or 10%," he said.

"You need to reach out to the people who left the profession and ask them why they left," said Cappitelli. "And ask them what conditions would change to entice them to come back."