Milwaukee promises $10,000 bonuses to entice police officer transfers

The city of Milwaukee is offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus for working police officers who transfer to the Milwaukee Police Department.

The initiative, announced by Mayor Cavalier Johnson at a recent press conference, is part of the city’s effort to meet its 1725 officer staffing goal imposed by Act 12.

“I’ll say it plainly: we need more police officers in Milwaukee,” Johnson said Monday. “However at the same time, there are fewer women and fewer men who are choosing police work as a career, and so that makes it more difficult for us as we seek to fill our recruit classes. So today I’m highlighting a new effort to invite experienced police officers, law enforcement professionals who are on the job and other jurisdictions to join the Milwaukee Police Department.”

Like many cities across the nation, Milwaukee’s police force numbers have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. With more police officers retiring and new talent hard to find, Milwaukee has turned to lateral recruitment.

In-state applicants already certified by Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Standard Board will go through eight weeks of paid training, while out-of-state applicants will go through the full six-month academy process. The $10,000 bonus has a clawback provision that requires an officer to stay on the MPD force for at least four years.

Act 12 of 2023 imposed minimum staffing level requirements that Milwaukee must meet within the next 10 years. The bonus monies are sourced from the 2% sales tax imposed by Act 12 for public safety funding.

“For years and for decades, other municipalities, other law enforcement agencies have poached, have borrowed, have taken law enforcement officers, police officers, from Milwaukee and now Milwaukee will have the opportunity to get officers back and increase our numbers,” Alderman Peter Burgelis, who has led MPD recruitment initiatives, said Monday.

The city’s 2025 budget funds three 65-member MPD academy classes, but a class beginning in December currently has between 26 and 28 recruits so far.