PORTLAND, Maine — Portland's Police Department is investing nearly $300,000 in a new effort to recruit officers to fill 30 vacant positions.
Members of the police department spent the week of June 3 shooting staged video footage of officers and their different divisions with the help of Epic Recruiting, an Arizona-based marketing company that describes itself as "the leading law enforcement recruiting agency in the nation."
Portland police have 30 vacant positions out of 158 total officers, according to Chief Mark DuBois. That shortage is causing a variety of problems for not only the department but the people they serve.
The community policing division is half-staffed. The patrol division is working forced overtime to cover the city, leading to burnout, the chief said. The detective and proactive crime reduction units are also short. The Chief said he believes this video will pay dividends in the long run. He said there are roughly 150,000 unique internet searches for police jobs every day, in New England alone.
"We felt like our recruiting efforts were maximized. We've been doing the same approach with the same material for probably ten years. So we felt like we really needed to make some changes, and to really step up our game," Chief DuBois said. "It's going to be far cheaper if we get ten new hires out of this than paying all the overtime to fill in for ten people or not provide the services that we were typically providing. So, you know, I think it's worth it."
DuBois said the department is using some savings in the department's budget, as well as drug money they have seized, to pay for part of the cost. Included in that cost is the video shoot and editing, plus a website that includes the video, and a 12-month marketing blitz, including social media advertising. The Portland Police Department will own the materials that Epic shot to use for future recruiting purposes. The city council approved the use of these funds.
So far this year, Portland police have hired four officers, and five more are in the middle of the interview process now.
Portland is not the only department facing this shortage. Maine State Police announced pay increases of up to 22 percent, which take effect in August 2024.
According to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck, there are roughly more than 250 open positions for police officers and even more vacancies for part-time officers and corrections officers, as of February 2024.
A handful of departments in Maine have already tried hefty sign-on bonuses and benefits to entice more applicants, but it has not been enough to fully address staffing needs. To help, public safety leaders unveiled their own new recruitment video created by Husson University students, alongside the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.
"This is a national crisis and every state is dealing with it. I think that the demands on the position are very high. There's a lot of scrutiny on the positions. There's a lot of criticism nationally, not just locally, everywhere. That offsets with the pay. Obviously, people analyze that and they think that they can do a different job for the same amount of money and not have nearly the amount of headaches and scrutiny. And it's a challenging lifestyle," DuBois said.
The video also will highlight what Portland and the surrounding areas have to offer for life outside of work, including Maine's scenic coastline, mountains, lakes, and the activities available in each season. The crew first came to Maine in February 2024 to shoot videos of snow sports, which will be included with summer activities, restaurant and shopping scenes, and more.
Portland police expect the video to be ready in August.