After years of declining ranks, recruitment and retention measures have stabilized the Cleveland Division of Police, according to Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb.
A one-time pay increase of 14% in 2023, and yearly increases of 3% under the new contract approved earlier this year mean patrol officers at the highest level will make more than $90,000 per year by 2027.
Changes to department policies previously banning facial hair and restricting tattoos, along with an accelerated hiring process, have also contributed to a 356% increase in new officers entering the police academy in the two years since the launch of his response to the city’s violent crime problem — the Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone, or RISE, initiative — Bibb said.
“Before we made these changes, it took 18 months — 18 months — for someone to join the division of police. Now, we've cut the time to hire from 18 months to four months,” Bibb noted.
In 2022 and 2023, a total of 55 cadets entered the police academy. That number has jumped to 251 in 2024 and 2025, according to the city.
There are currently 1,254 uniformed officers, including cadets, in the Cleveland Division of Police.
The city’s also been able to reduce its daunting attrition numbers in the last two years, according to Bibb.
“We were facing a crisis in terms of folks leaving our department to go to suburban departments across the county and across the state,” Bibb said.
In early 2020, the division had more than 1,600 police officers. Those numbers plummeted because of retirements and resignations between 2020 and this year.
In 2022 and 2023, 351 officers left the department. That number dropped to 179 in 2024 and 2025.
Beyond increased pay, Bibb said the department has worked to be more welcoming and attractive to a new generation of officers.
“The changes around small things — particularly for millennials and the gen Z workforce — beards, tattoos, ball caps. That speaks to them being their authentic selves,” Bibb said. “The fact that we're a more progressive, modern department, I think, speaks to the huge interest we're seeing from many folks who want to join the department now.”
The improvements to recruiting and retention, as well as law enforcement partnerships, have led to crime reductions this year, including a 16% decline in homicides and 24% decrease in robberies, according to the city.
