For police chiefs & city / county officials · National Police Recruiting Study 2026
You're spending more than ever to hire. Can you prove what it's buying?
Chiefs are pouring budget into recruiting while vacancies stay open, and the officials who fund them want to see results — not vendor "impressions." This national study builds the benchmark both sides need: independent proof of whether recruiting dollars are working, and how your numbers compare to agencies and jurisdictions like yours.
The problem
Recruiting spend is rising. Proof that it works is not.
Most departments can tell you what they spent last year. Far fewer can tell you how many officers that spending actually produced. Advertising vendors deliver reports full of impressions, reach, and click-through rates — none of which is a hire. Meanwhile applications fell at 69% of agencies between 2020 and 2022, so every wasted dollar hurts more than it used to.
When you can't connect spending to hires, three things happen: budgets get questioned, overtime climbs to cover empty shifts, and the recruiting problem looks like a leadership failure instead of a measurement failure.
What's in it for you
Eight minutes now. A number you can defend later.
Whether you lead the department or sign off on its budget, you contribute to the national benchmark — and you get the benchmark back, free.
Benchmark your department
Get the free national report: cost-per-hire, time-to-fill, and vacancy rates for agencies your size and region — so you know on day one whether your numbers are normal or a red flag.
Defend the recruiting budget
Walk into the council or finance meeting with independent national data instead of anecdotes. Tie staffing dollars to actual hires and justify the line item with evidence, not pressure.
Anonymous & safe to answer
No department or official is ever named. Results are reported only in aggregate, you can skip any question, and nothing you share is tied back to you or your jurisdiction.
Hold spending accountable
Help establish what “recruiting that works” actually costs, so public money goes to officers hired — not impressions, reach, or click-through reports from vendors.
Built for a working schedule
One question at a time, about eight minutes, works on your phone between calls. No account, no login, and no sales pitch attached to your participation.
Shape the national standard
Your open-ended answers feed the report's analysis. The way leaders and officials read this problem helps set what the whole field treats as normal — and what it stops tolerating.
How it works
Three steps. No paperwork.
Answer
Move through short questions one at a time. Pick an answer and it advances automatically; type where it matters.
Submit
Your responses join the anonymous national dataset. Nothing identifies your department unless you choose to add it.
Get the report
Leave an email at the end and we'll send you the published national benchmark — free.
Help build the number the whole field is missing.
Funded by Tactical Data Group so the data stays independent and free to the departments that need it.
Begin the survey →This study is funded and conducted by Tactical Data Group. Participation is voluntary; you may skip any question or stop at any time. Responses are reported only in aggregate and are never attributed to any individual or department. This survey is not affiliated with any federal grant program. Beginning the survey indicates your consent to participate.