Naples Police Department’s recruitment success

The Naples Police Department began the search for more officers last year to fill open positions.

In April of 2022, WINK News told you the police union was short-staffed. Now, the department is having recruitment success.

Naples PD said they’re onboarding an individual starting Monday, which means they will be fully staffed.

Some of the people they have hired are still in the academy or still in training, but they’re happy to have filled the vacant positions.

“We’re such a destination city, and we’re thankful for that,” said Naples Police Lt. Bryan McGinn. “We’ve always had high application numbers, which is where we’ve been able to make up grounds, with our vacancies that we’ve had in the past.”

A few years ago, they faced challenges keeping officers, but now that’s not the case. In the last two years, they’ve filled up to 16 positions that were vacant, and last year, leaders in Naples voted to approve a new contract for the city’s police force after the police union negotiated about a 12% wage increase.

“We do have people that want to work here that come from experience elsewhere, whether it’s in-state or out-of-state, and it’s good to blend those ranks in with some experience, as well as people that are starting their careers fresh,” McGinn said.

McGinn has been with the department for 15 years and talked to WINK News about the current staffing situation.

“Varying ages, races, ethnicities, genders, it’s been great. We’ve seen an uptick in all these things, and it’s been good to find people that have always wanted to do something like law enforcement, maybe never had the opportunity,” he said.

He said while hiring has been a main focus, the department also values work culture.

“We really look to hire the best of the best, and that doesn’t always mean that you come with experience, like I said, but it does come with a good worldview, a balanced opinion base and somebody that’s able to look at things level headed and make that decisive decision making when need be,” he said.

He said the improvement goes hand-in-hand with the recent leadership changes.

Naples Police Chief Ciro Dominguez has also helped with the recruitment process since he joined the department, focusing on ways to look for people who care about the community they want to serve.