Tennessee law enforcement officers, SROs to receive $800 retention bonus

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee is rolling out a new initiative to help retain law enforcement officers and school resource officers in the state to the tune of $800.

The $800 retention bonuses are part of an $84 million investment by the state announced last year to recruit, retain, and train law enforcement in Tennessee, according to the TN Dept. of Commerce and Insurance and the TN Peace Officers Standards Training Commission (POST).

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Cpl. Joshua Liberty with the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office told News 2 he became an SRO to protect students and staff and positively impact their lives.

“Once I became an SRO I knew that was the only job for me,” Liberty said. “It makes me a better person just being with them and making them happy.”

According to Liberty, all Dickson County and city schools are staffed with an SRO, however, that’s not the case for all school districts.

According to numbers released by the state this past May, around 500 Tennessee schools still didn’t have an SRO despite the General Assembly allotting $140 million to pay for the positions during a special legislative session on public safety last summer. Lawmakers previously told News 2 that the lack of SROs in certain districts, especially in rural areas, is likely due to staffing shortages.

Liberty believes the additional $800 bonus could help other departments still struggling to hire and keep SROs.

“I love the babies. I’ll do this for less money than I make anyways, but I think the incentive of putting that out there will help other places recruit and keep the SROs,” Liberty said. “A lot of people, with the economy the way it is, are struggling with finances.”

Liberty told News 2 even though Dickson County has enough SROs, the bonus will help boost morale and provide additional financial support just ahead of Christmas, because the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office is set to receive the money in October.

Officers who completed their 2023 in-service training, and SROs who completed the 2023-2024 academic school year are eligible for the bonus as long as they are still employed as an officer in the state.

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The POST Commission is contacting all law enforcement agencies with more details.

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