Public Safety, Finance, and
Strategic Support Committee
San José Police Department
Recruitment and Hiring Activity
Annual Report
October 15, 2026
Item (d)2.
Presenter: Captain Mike O’Neil
2 Sworn Recruitment and Hiring
FY 2025–2026 results and recent academy hiring cycles
3,135
Applications received
FY 2025–2026
116
Police recruits & laterals
hired
+162%
Applications vs.
FY 2024–2025
11 Laterals + rehires
Joined SJPD
Hiring Comparison by Academy Class
SJ54 847 31 hires 3.7% rate
SJ55 877 38 hires 4.3% rate
SJ56 830 32 hires 3.6% rate
SJ57 1182 30 hires 2.5% rate
SJPD continues to average roughly 800–1,000 applications per recruitment cycle, but successful hires generally remain about 30–45 per cycle versus an academy capacity of approximately 60.
3 Recruiting Strategy and Candidate Development
Target Audiences
• Local residents and community-connected
candidates
• Women and diverse applicants
• Military personnel and transitioning service
members
• College students, graduates, athletes and
youth
• Candidates aligned with SJPD core values
Current Recruiting Initiatives
• Department of War SkillBridge implementation
and military outreach
• EPIC Productions digital campaigns, website
refresh and geofencing
• Recruitment billboards, commercials and stadium
advertising
• Free written, physical and oral-board testing
• Wednesday Night fitness, testing preparation and
mentorship
• Cadet participation, career fairs and communitybased recruiting • Ride-along program and lateral officer incentive Cadet Pipeline 59+
Cadets in
FY 25–26
5 Paid part-time
cadets hired
The Department is expanding youth mentorship, educational partnerships, local recruiting and military outreach to strengthen both hiring and long-term retention.
3 Prior Cadets
hired to rank of
Police Recruit
4 Academy Reported Ethnicities
Self-reported data for Academy Classes SJ53–SJ55; participants may select multiple categories Reported Ethnicity SJ53 SJ54 SJ55
Asian 6 5 7
Black/African American 2 2 0
Hispanic/Latino 13 12 25
Native Hawaiian/PI 0 1 1
White 7 7 5
SJ55 reported 25 Hispanic/Latino selections, 7 Asian selections, 5 White selections, 1 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander selection, and no Black/African American selections.
Source: San José Police Recruiting Unit survey.
5 Department Overall Demographics
As of June 26, 2026
Gender
87.26%
Male
12.74%
Female
Ethnicity — Sworn Members
White 28%
Other / Not
Specified
28%
Hispanic /
Latino
26%
Asian 15%
Black /
African
American
2.5%
Female Representation by Rank
Officer 122
(14.6%)
Sergeant 7 (4.2%)
Lieutenant 4 (9.8%)
Women-focused recruiting includes the
Women’s Bootcamp, Wednesday Night fitness,
female applicant mentorship, targeted media,
and a $25,000 ongoing overtime allocation for
Women in Law Enforcement recruitment
efforts.
6 Staffing, Attrition and Hiring Pressure
Department staffing snapshot as of June 26, 2026
1,167
Budgeted sworn
positions
1,061
Filled sworn
positions
106
Sworn
vacancies
897
“Street ready”
officers
FY 2025–2026 Separations
120
Total
separations
81 Projected retire/
separate
+38
Unprojected
vacancies*
Reported separation reasons included 30 resignations in lieu, 3 transfers to other City positions, 7 departures to other agencies, 38 other resignations, 8 disability retirements, 24 service retirements and 9 terminations. *The report separately notes 119 officers retired, resigned, were terminated, or resigned in lieu of termination against a projection of 81, creating 38 unprojected vacancies.
Communications Division Recruiting
Police Communications Specialists and Police Radio Dispatchers 162.5
Budgeted
positions
5.5 Current
vacancies
553
Applications
FY 2025–2026
1,329
Applications
FY 2024–2025
Communications recruiting remains a high Department priority.
Recruiting Efforts
• Participation in Department
recruiting events
• High school and community college
outreach
• Recruitment flyers and in-class
presentations
• Applicant information on duties,
requirements, salary and benefits
• Advertisement on Social Media
outlets
Recent Application Trend
FY 23–24 958
FY 24–25 1329
FY 25–26 553
7 QUESTIONS