One in Nine Urbana, Illinois Police Officers Seeking Employment Elsewhere

According to a statement issued by Urbana, Illinois Interim Chief of Police Richard Surles on June 2^nd, more than ten percent the City’s police officers are looking to apply to other agencies.

Surles said that the officers were seeking higher salaries being offered elsewhere, such as at the Illinois State Police.

As of April this year, Urbana had fifty-four sworn officers.  Surles said that the department is already short seven officers and that retirements and migrations to other departments would add to the shortage. Surles’s statement and supporting article from 1997 are provided below.

Interim Chief Surles: “I am very concerned about hiring. Nearly every larger police agency in the region is paying a hiring bonus.  This is not unique to Illinois.  LE agencies across the country are paying hiring bonuses.  Most are paying retention bonuses also. As you are likely aware, the City of Champaign has been experiencing a critical shortage in police staffing. To get staffing up, Champaign has begun paying $20K lateral hiring bonuses and retention bonuses to current employees. As of yet, no Urbana officer has left for Champaign. That being said, we currently have 7 vacancies and several more officers that are “unserviceable”. I was also informed of a planned retirement in September just yesterday. That does not consider officers that are or will soon be eligible for retirement (by my count another 9 that have 20 years or more of service – myself included). The Illinois State Police has also recently begun pushing hiring incentives for lateral, experienced police officers. I have been unofficially told that as many as 6 UPD patrol officers/detectives are either considering or have applied to the state police. Given that the Urbana Police Department has been historically understaffed (see attached article from the NG from 1997), losing even small numbers of staff can represent significant operational challenges. Hiring is and must continue to be a significant initiative for the department and the city.”

Council Grants up to $51,000 in Bonuses to Each Police Officer – Champaign, Illinois