Tuscaloosa City Council approves retention bonuses for new police officers

The Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that establishes a $5,000 retention bonus for all new Tuscaloosa police patrol officers.

"This investment will help us hire the best candidates so we can maintain the high level of service our citizens deserve,” said Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley.

In addition to the retention bonuses, the council approved a $2,500 bonus for any current city employee who refers a new patrol officer to the Tuscaloosa Police Department.

The City of Tuscaloosa said all patrol officers hired after March 1 will be eligible for the $5,000 retention bonus.

Here's how the retention bonus will be distributed:

• $2,000 paid after the completion of a probationary period of employment

• $1,500 paid after completion of the second year of employment

• $1,500 paid after completion of the third year of employment

Current employees who refer a new Tuscaloosa police patrol officer would be eligible for the $2,500 recruitment bonus after the referred officer completes a probationary period of employment.

In addition, the City Council will vote March 7 on establishing take-home police vehicles for all patrol officers.

Blankley said that all of these steps are vital for the future of TPD.

“We’re competing with other departments to hire the very best from a pool of candidates that keeps shrinking. Take-home cars have become routinely offered at other departments and we’ve seen more sign-on bonuses offered in the last year. This is what we need to do to stay competitive and we’re grateful to the council for taking this step,” Blankley said.

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In an effort to attract more potential police officers, the city will hold a career fair for the Tuscaloosa Police Department from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 30 at the Tuscaloosa River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway.

The bonuses and the job fair are part of a larger effort by city leaders to maintain public safety for Tuscaloosa residents.

Last month, city leaders announced that they would team up with the University of Alabama to open a new police precinct on the Strip, an initiative to improve safety along the busy area near the UA campus.

The precinct, staffed jointly by the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa police departments, is on the corner of University Boulevard and Campus Drive West. This location is only temporary and the precinct is expected to relocate to a site directly on the Strip.

UAPD and TPD said they would both provide officers to a dedicated “Strip detail,” additional officers who will patrol the Strip area with a special emphasis on peak hours of business and activity.

These efforts came after the Jan. 15 shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris of Birmingham near the Strip. Former UA basketball player Darius Miles and Michael Lynn Davis face capital murder charges in connection with Harris' death.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: New Tuscaloosa police officers eligible for $5,000 retention bonuses