This September, the NOPD received the highest number of new police recruit applications since early 2015.
A total of 440 new applications were received this September compared to 216 in September 2015. It's also the highest number of applications received since May 2015, when the NOPD saw a total of 469 applications. The department has received a total of 3,341 applications year-to-date in 2016.
This year, the NOPD has a goal of hiring 150 new police recruits. The NOPD launched Class #176 in May with 39 recruits, the largest class to start training at the NOPD Training Academy since the recruitment campaign kicked off in 2013. Class #177 launched in July with 32 recruits. A third class is scheduled to begin training at the end of October. A tota lof 20 recruits have already been hired for that class.