When the latest class of Kansas Highway Patrol recruits started at the academy this month, there were just 10, fewer than at any time in a little more than a decade.
The number of recruits entering the patrol’s training academy has ebbed and flowed with time, but since 2017 there has been a steady decline.
The number of new recruits has plunged to 10 this month from 54 in July 2017. The July 2017 class had the most recruits the agency had seen in a decade.
The declining number of recruits has raised questions about trooper pay as well as morale at the Highway Patrol
Some have suggested that morale could have been affected by lawsuits accusing Highway Patrol Superintendent Herman Jones and others of creating a hostile work environment marked by sexual harassment.
Some KHP employees have complained privately to lawmakers, saying the patrol suffers from low morale.
Add in a rising number of resignations from 2017 to 2020 – a jump from 35 to 53 – and there are concerns about the agency’s staffing over the long term.
The Highway Patrol now has 465 sworn officers, down from 477 in 2019 but up appreciably from 418 in 2015.
“We understand and realize we have a challenge bringing individuals in,” Jones told the Senate transportation committee on Wednesday morning.
But the decline in troopers puts public safety at risk, Bryan Clark, president of the Kansas State Troopers Association, told lawmakers last week.
“Fewer troopers mean all the things you imagine, less coverage, slower response time, officer safety concerns, higher accident rates (and) fatalities and lower morale,” Clark told the House Corrections Committee.
In recent written testimony last week, Clark flagged the decline in new recruits, something that has been blamed on low pay.
“We have fallen so sharply behind larger municipalities that we are not competitive with them,” Clark told lawmakers during a hearing last week.
A spokeswoman for the Highway Patrol said troopers have not received a pay increase since 2017, causing the agency to be less competitive with other law enforcement agencies across Kansas.
“Although we continue to recruit qualified troopers, law enforcement agencies across the state and region compete for interested applicants,” Highway Patrol Lt. Candice. Breshears said in an email.
“It is no secret that KHP starting wages are currently below the surrounding states, metropolitan areas, and even smaller communities in Kansas,” she said.
Gov. Laura Kelly has proposed give $3.6 million to the Highway Patrol for an “enhanced pay structure” for recruiting and retaining troopers.
The plummeting number of recruits has caught the attention of lawmakers who are worried about the public safety threat it could pose.
“Obviously, it’s very concerning that our law enforcement struggles to recruit the number of people that we need to take care of us,” said Republican state Rep. Stephen Owens, chair of the House corrections committee.
“The real question is why,” Owens said.
The Hesston lawmaker said there have been a lot of questions raised about pay and pay parity as well as morale stemming from charges of sexual discrimination in lawsuits filed against the agency within the last year.
Starting pay for troopers once they graduate from the academy is $21.13 an hour, Breshears said.
Clark said that doesn’t compare favorably to other cities such as Topeka, Salina and Kansas City that pay more than the Highway Patrol.
Clark provided data showing that starting pay is $22.97 an hour for Topeka police, $22.17 for Salina police and $23.34 in Kansas City.
Meanwhile, he said starting pay is $23.73 for a Nebraska state trooper and $23.81 for a Missouri state tooper.
Last summer, Republican state Rep. J.R. Claeys of Salina questioned Jones about why the agency was struggling to recruit new troopers
Claeys said morale was so low at the agency that it was “absolutely stunning.”
“We’re challenged for the fact that our pay does not compare to many of the agencies across the state,” Jones told the joint budget committee last summer.
Jones also added that the agency has trouble getting new troopers to relocate to areas of the state where there are vacancies.
The agency recently highlighted steps it was taking to attract more recruits. Those efforts included:
- Working with human resources to create a seamless application and hiring process to get more applicants through the process quickly.
- Implemented a condensed academy class for current sworn law enforcement officers working for other agencies. The condensed academy gives qualified officers with three years of experience in Kansas an opportunity to join the Highway Patrol while going through a shortened academy that lasts 10 weeks. It takes new troopers 24 weeks to complete the academy.
- Using ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram; talking to students at high schools and colleges; attending career fairs and community events and using promotional items to attract more personnel to the agency.
- Assigned adjunct recruiters in the field to assist with recruitment.
Claeys said he thought pay would help, but morale issues need to be addressed as well, including a pay disparity between troopers who protect the Capitol and troopers in other parts of the Highway Patrol.
“I think pay solves a lot of problems. I think morale is still a very serious issue within the Kansas Highway Patrol,” Claeys said.
Claeys asked Jones about morale on Wednesday when the superintendent testified before the Senate transportation committee.
Jones said morale at the agency generally reflects what’s happening across the country, whether it’s low pay or calls to “defund the police.”
“Many times, morale is within,” Jones said. “I’ve known plenty of people that are upbeat about what they do and how they go about their business, and there are some that are naysayers and I try to refocus why they’re in this.
“Some look at it as pay,” Jones said, “while others will look at it as the tenor of where law enforcement is today.”
