Lexington Police Department short 116 officers – WKYT

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Fraternal Order of Police Bluegrass Lodge 4 President Jeremy Russell took to Facebook to raise his concerns about the Lexington Police Department’s current staffing shortage.WKYT reached out to the City of Lexington to confirm the current number of shortages. We received the following statement from Lexington Police:“The Lexington Police Department’s authorized strength is 639. As of 09/18/23, there are 116 vacant positions. There are 15 recruits in the academy, which is scheduled to graduate in December, and we are starting another class in October with 37 recruits.In addition, we recently started the Police Officer R Program. The program allows us to hire back officers who retired from our agency and bring back years of experience. So far, we have already hired 9 officers through this program. These officers supplement current staffing.While the police department may not be at authorized strength, we are ensuring areas such as patrol are appropriately staffed to answer calls throughout the city.We are also actively recruiting for another class, which will start in March 2024. Recruits will earn a $3,000 bonus upon successful completion of the Training Academy. Those looking to apply or learn more can visit www.joinlexpd.com or text JOINLEXPD to
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