By Solange Reyner
The D.C. police department has been losing officers to federal agencies in droves, now operating with 3,144 officers—the lowest number in over half a century—far below its 2023 peak of more than 4,000.
To address staffing shortages, the department relies on costly overtime shifts that have drained more than $130 million from the city’s budget during the most recent fiscal year.
“You have this hiring blitz going on where you have local jurisdictions competing with federal agencies,” Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, told a reporter. “We have not seen this kind of competition in the market.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hired more than 12,000 officers within 12 months last year alone, doubling its workforce from approximately 10,000 to 22,000.
From January through April 2025, the U.S. Border Patrol received 34,650 applications—a 44% increase compared with the previous year—marking one of its largest recruitment drives in history.
The U.S. Secret Service plans to add 4,000 employees by 2028, representing a roughly 20% expansion of its workforce to prepare for major events including the presidential election cycle and the 2028 Olympics.
Federal agencies are also offering aggressive recruitment incentives, including signing bonuses reaching $50,000 or more, to fill thousands of law-enforcement vacancies.
This surge in federal hiring—particularly by agencies such as ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection—has intensified competition for officers already scarce.
“It is increasingly difficult to compete against other jurisdictions and departments to recruit new members,” interim D.C. Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll said at a February 25 hearing before the D.C. Council. “The competitors’ packages are drawing not only recruits but also MPD officers who resign.”
