The City of Dallas Public Safety Committee on Feb. 10 debated a proposal to raise the Dallas Police Department's hiring goal and voted to forward an amended target to the mayor for consideration by the full City Council.

Public Safety Committee Chair Moreno introduced an action item asking the council to direct the city manager to revise staffing goals to increase new police officer hires from 250 to 400 for fiscal year 2025 and to present budget amendments to support that increase. Chair Moreno said Dallas had 3,690 officers in 2021 while the city's population grew from about 1,223,000 to about 1,356,000 and that the department now lists roughly 3,168 officers, a decline of about 522 officers amid population growth.

"We simply do not have enough officers, and we're overworking the officers we have," Chair Moreno said, describing higher response times and lower resident satisfaction with police services even as the department reported reductions in some crime categories.

Mayor Pro Tem Atkins moved to amend the proposal to a stepped approach: increase the hiring goal to 300 for fiscal 2025, 350 for fiscal 2026 and 400 for fiscal 2027. Interim Chief Igo of the Dallas Police Department told the committee the department's recruiting forecast for the year was between 280 and 300 hires and warned that raising the goal above 300 would require expanding the department's support structure for recruiting, background checks and academy/basic training staff. "If we go beyond that 300, I'm gonna have to add additional resources to those groups," Chief Igo said.

Several council members argued for a higher, more aggressive target. One committee member urged the committee to "stretch" to 400 and said setting a higher target would change the city's recruitment plan and resource allocation. Other members supported a more incremental target, citing limits on training capacity and the need to avoid pulling patrol officers from the streets to staff academy and background functions.

The committee discussed prior actions and context: a voter-initiated Proposition U approved in November 2024 calling for additional officers and pension changes, and budget committee recommendations to reprogram $7,700,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support increased hiring. Chair Moreno and others cited recent statements by Dallas Police leaders saying the department could hire at least 300 and potentially ramp to 400.

After additional amendments and discussion, members agreed to an amended numeric target for the current fiscal year (referred to in the meeting transcript as "325" for fiscal 2025). The committee chair called for a vote; the motion as amended passed and will be forwarded to the mayor for consideration by the full council.

The committee also recognized the police recruiting team during the meeting; Major Ashford introduced staff the department credited with a near 35% increase in recruits and with meeting last year's hiring goals.

The committee's action is a recommendation to the full City Council and does not bind future councils. Several speakers noted that implementation will require additional staffing in recruiting, background investigations and basic training or redeployment of sworn personnel, and that Chief Igo and Chief Artis described options and trade-offs if hiring goals are raised further.

The committee did not adopt a final, multi-year binding ordinance; it amended a resolution and forwarded that recommendation. The council will consider the proposal and any related budget amendments during upcoming full council budget proceedings.