Dangerously Understaffed Update: Cleveland police still losing officers

City records show 13 Cleveland police officers left the department in May, including two cadets from the 155th police academy class, which started this spring.

A total of 62 officers have left the department so far this year.

The number includes eight cadets from the 155th police academy class.

There were 52 cadets when the class started last March.

READ MORE: Cleveland police welcomes 52 recruits to new academy class

Cleveland police have struggled to recruit and retain officers since 2020.

Mayor Justin Bibb's administration has boosted pay for cadets and current officers, offered bonuses, and loosened restrictions on beards, ball caps and tattoos.

In November 2022, he said he would hire a marketing firm to create a marketing campaign to recruit officers and hire consultants to study staffing levels.

However, the city never hired anyone to do the staffing study and is still working on the marketing campaign.

Here's the statement emailed to us from Cleveland Communcations Strategist Tyler Sinclair:

"The marketing firm we hired launched a recruitment campaign that consisted of 3 phases, which focused on developing the plan. The Department of Public Safety is both synthesizing that plan with current internal recruitment efforts and integrating it in conjunction with an award we received for technical assistance from the Department of Justice’s COPS Office. That award – which utilizes a global leader in safety consultation – will examine current programs and identify opportunities for program expansion and improved strategies, as well as implementation of new methods, to help increase the size of the candidate pool for the Division. We are grateful for the expertise they will bring and are excited for this opportunity to help us build on our current efforts. The staffing RFP did not progress under previous Public Safety leadership and we are trying to determine if/when it will move forward."

However, the marketing campaign has yet to be publicly launched. We asked a city spokesperson about the staffing study and are awaiting a response.

In an email, a police spokesperson wrote there are 1181 total officers on the city's force.

The number includes the 44 cadets currently enrolled in the 155th academy class.

The city's current budget calls for 1350 officers.

For years, the city budgeted for 1640 officers.

READ MORE: Dangerously Understaffed: Our ongoing investigation into the severe staffing shortage at the Cleveland Police Department, and the impact it is having on the City of Cleveland and its residents