Who would want to become a cop in 2025? In Utah, it's more people than you might think

SALT LAKE CITY — In a world that is becoming less social as technology advances — working from home, online dating and streaming entertainment — there's one career that thrives on human interaction, for both good and bad: law enforcement.

When the Deseret News asked law enforcement officers about the best part of their jobs, the most frequent answer given was "helping people."

"We're in the people business, and so it's really an opportunity to make a difference," Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said. "If we treat people well, we treat people with respect and dignity, we're going to garner more support, maybe even sometimes from detractors."

While talking to officers from Salt Lake City to Payson, police generally agree that Utah was a police-friendly state.

"You will always have individuals or groups that may not be as supportive of police, but there are a lot of people here in Salt Lake City that support us, that want us to be out there helping out and making the community safer, addressing the quality of life issues, addressing the crime," Redd added.

Salt Lake City police officer Michael Donahoo joined the force in 2020 at the height of the "defund the police" era. During a ride-along with the Deseret News, he said his anticipations were worse than reality. In general, people have a pretty positive response to law enforcement, according to Donahoo.

Payson Police Chief Brad Bishop said that "even during the height of all the controversy in America, our communities came out in droves saying, 'Hey, we support you,'" noting that Utah wasn't much involved in the "national spotlight" compared to other states.

For every expletive that gets thrown at him while on the job, Donahoo said he'll get at least two expressions of appreciation. "There are enough people who respect us that it makes up for the people who don't. That's what it comes down to," he said casually. "The bigger purpose is that I have always been really driven to help people and try to solve their problems. So with that as the backing, it's easy to have confidence in the job."

So, how is police morale?

Just like national trends, police departments across the state are trying to fill officer vacancies.

The Salt Lake City Police Department has the City Council's approval to hire 630 sworn officers. The police department's communications director, Brent Weisberg, said the department currently has 44 vacancies, which is higher than it has been in the past, but that it is due in large part to retirements rather than a lack of recruits.

However, he emphasized that maintaining a full staff is crucial for morale to prevent officers from feeling overworked.

A report last year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police received responses from 1,158 U.S. agencies across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and found that 70% of respondents said recruiting is more difficult than it was pre-2020.

Recruitment in Western and Southern states, reportedly, was less of an issue than in the rest of the country.

Though no profession is perfect, Bishop said the pay for law enforcement and public employees as a whole has come a long way in the last few years — something he said has previously been a stumbling block recruitment-wise.

"It's really hard to get people to enter the public sector anymore because the private market pays so much," Bishop said.

"Historically, there have been hundreds of applicants wanting to get into the profession," he added. "Well, we went through that whole anti-police movement, and it caused a lot of people to say, 'Hey, why would I want to go work holidays and weekend shift work, and not be appreciated, when I can go work in the private sector, work straight days, weekends off, and hybrid?' It just drove down the number of applicants."

A recent report by the Utah League of Cities and Towns, reviewed by the Deseret News, found that pay was the leading motivating factor for public sector employees to remain in their profession.

"In 2022, 49% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that pay increases made it much more likely that they will stay with their agency. This ratio exceeded 60% in both the 2023 and 2024 surveys. These changes could be driven by larger pay increases in recent years, a reduction in other detrimental conditions (e.g., poor morale, public perception), or a combination thereof."

Redd, who started his career in the private sector and later switched over to law enforcement, expressed that compensation is only part of it.

"Money gets people in the door, but the culture of an organization keeps people there," he said. "So we're equally focused on, 'How do we support our officers? How do we give them the tools they need? How do we create a culture where people want to be here?'"

Finding a career in law enforcement

Recently, hundreds of teenagers and young adults attended the Find Yourself in Utah Law Enforcement Career Day at the Peace Officers Standards and Training headquarters in Sandy. Everything from SWAT Lenco BearCat vehicles to K-9 demonstrations and drone shows were on display, demonstrating the wide range of career opportunities in law enforcement.

Younger generations (millennials and Generation Z) have not shown the same attraction to the profession as the older generations (baby boomers and Generation X) did when they entered the workforce, so understanding why is key for recruitment.

Redd said that, perhaps, management needs a remodel.

"We have a new generation of workforce, and this new generation wants to be involved in the decision-making," Redd said. "They want to see their leaders present, they want to contribute, they want to have meaning in their work. And different than maybe some of us years ago, when we were just hired on and were told we're lucky that we have a job and we need to do what we're told."

"It's a different time now, and leaders that recognize the value of their employees and the contributions they can make and listen are going to be successful. ... The new generation of workforce is very talented. They have good ideas, they want to make a difference, and as leaders, we really need to tap into that."

But not every Gen Zer sticks up their nose at policing. Alondra Noriega and Sofia Gamarra, both students at East High School, have wanted to go into law enforcement since they were little.

It's the portrayals of law enforcement through the Hollywood lens that caught Noriega's attention. Shows like "Criminal Minds" and "The Rookie" came to mind.

"I've just always been into the problem-solving of it," Noriega said, adding that she'd like to join the FBI someday as a behavior analyst and help people find peace after crimes are committed against their loved ones.

Gamarra's mom is a social worker, and she instilled that passion in her. Although she is not sure if the FBI is her path, she said her interests are in criminal policing investigations or following in her mom's footsteps.

Their teacher, detective Cody Lougy, brought 90 students to the law enforcement day event. He's worked part time as a teacher for 23 years, teaching law enforcement classes, and has been an officer for 29 years.

"I'm also really able to humanize the profession, because the only time an officer is going to interact with a teenager, in most cases, is when they're a victim or a suspect or involved," Lougy said. "With my platform, they're coming into my classroom, and I'm not there to enforce any laws. I'm just there to have a conversation, and they get to know me, and they realize, too, I'm just like anybody else."

He said for anyone interested in giving law enforcement a chance, go on a ride-along.

"Come sit in the front seat and see what this career entails. For me, that's what sold me on the job."

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