ROSWELL, Ga. — For the first time in more than 20 years, the Roswell Police Department is fully staffed.
This comes as law enforcement agencies across the country struggle to fill vacancies.
“It’s a very rare instance for a police department to be fully staffed,” Chief James Conroy, who’s been on the job in Roswell for four years, told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims.
Conroy said when he started, there were many vacancies.
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That prompted him to make hiring and retaining officers a priority.
For starters, he said, officers needed more money.
“That was a problem. We brought that pay up so that our officers who were here continued to stay and serve our community,” he said. “It also attracted those great officers from other departments looking to make a move.”
The department has 160 sworn officer positions, all of which are filled.
Roswell hired 36 officers in 2022; of those, 23 had experience at other agencies.
Last year, the Roswell City Council adopted the “Best in Class” pay plan, giving a 20% increase to starting police salaries across the board.
A new officer starts at $58,553; those with a college degree and experience can earn a starting salary of up to $71,635.
But it’s not just pay, it’s leadership, according to the city’s public safety liaison Lee Hills.
“We have a stellar leadership group in our public safety department,” Hills said. “Chief Conroy already had the cogs and the wheels turning, and just needed a council and mayor to get behind him.”
Officer Victor Aguirre is one of the department’s newest hires, joining in December.
The 29-year-old had been an officer in Smyrna.
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With a baby now in the family, better pay was a big selling point for Roswell – but not the only one.
“I heard good things about them,” Aguirre said. “Improving vehicles, technology, everything is moving up. You want to go somewhere where you don’t have limitations.”
Mayor Kurt Wilson said officers want to come and stay because the city has invested in the police.
“If you want them to truly do their job with passion and courage, then do right by them,” Wilson said. “Pay is one part of that equation. Part of that is having the right leadership in place.”
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In addition to higher pay, police are getting a bigger place to work.
City residents approved a $52 million public safety bond.
Half of that is dedicated to a new public safety headquarters.
“One of the things that was very clear from my perspective was, as a resident, somebody needs to protect the police,” Wilson. “As leader of this city, my job is to come in and protect the police.”
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