SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- Police departments in Sussex County are seeing less applicants for more vacancies.
Georgetown Police Chief Ralph Holm says in the hiring cycle before 2020, there were about 50-70 applicants for two openings.
In the last two hiring cycles, there were less than 20 applicants for five openings.
Georgetown Police Department currently has seven openings.
"Which is significant considering that's about 33 percent of our manning," Chief Holm said. "So we're out there trying to do some different things. We're using our own officers to help recruit maybe some friends of theirs."
Chief Holm says that despite being shorthanded, the community is able to be served with all duties being completed.Â
At the Millsboro Police Department, there are currently only two openings for new officers. But Chief Brian Calloway says that the number of applicants in the applicant pool is not what it was months ago.
"Our job market now working remote, having flexibility and freedom is certainly something that new employees are looking at," Chief Calloway said. "Law enforcement unfortunately is not geared towards that."
Todd Mumford of the Delaware Fraternal Order of Police says the current political climate and national stories of police brutality have negatively swayed candidates.
"Anybody that's been paying attention to the narrative over the last several years, law enforcement has been under a microscope," Mumford said. "There's been a lot of attention focused on negative behavior."
Chief Holm says he's hopeful that with a few of his new recruits in place, it will lead to more hires in the near future.
Georgetown Police Department's applications will be open through January 15th while Millsboro Police Department's applications are open year-round.