City officials hope pay boost will help recruit more IMPD officers

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is hiring with moves to increase pay for new recruits.

The 2023 budget proposal includes a 16 percent pay increase for new officers to nearly $62,000 a year. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said IMPD also offers a $10,000 signing bonus.

“That makes the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department one of the top paying police departments for new recruits anywhere in the Midwest,” Hogsett said.

The department is currently budgeted for 1,843 officers but has a staffing shortage of about 200. The department has been unable to reach staffing goals in recent years.
The new budget also funds an increase for civilian police officers.

IMPD Chief Randal Taylor pitched the department and said it is a place where an officer can grow.

“We’re a 1,600-plus department and those opportunities do exist. There are all kinds of directions you can go with the IMPD,” Taylor said.

The agency will receive record funding if the newly proposed budget is approved.

Several hundred applicants are currently testing for IMPD’s 26th Recruit Class that will graduate next year.

Contact WFYI city government and policy reporter Jill Sheridan at jsheridan@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @JillASheridan.