Today, 40 San Jose police department recruits graduated. Now the big question is will they stay and serve the city or look for jobs elsewhere.
The graduates completed the police academy and received their badges during a special ceremony.
The new officers will complete 16 weeks of training before they will be able to do solo patrols in San Jose.
The president of the police union says some of the graduates are already trying to get jobs at other bay area departments.
“It is true we do have some officers graduating today who are in the background process with other agencies," Jim Unland, San Jose Police Officer’s Association said.
The spokeswoman for the police department said she hasn’t heard anything like that, adding, “Of course we are focused on retention and making sure they stay here and that's what we're going to be focusing on in the future,” police spokeswoman Heather Randol said.
San Jose spends $170,000 to get one officer through the academy.
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Unland says he suspects the new officers may leave because he says the city offers the worst pension plan in the state and lower salaries than other departments.
