San Jose's severely understaffed police department will not get the help it hoped for from its upcoming academy.
Officials said the department -- which currently has under 900 active officers -- has offered seats to 25 recruits in the six-month academy starting in February. The low number of potential recruits is the latest hit for the department, which will lose 24 officers who plan to retire or resign this month.
"We're a long way from saying that number in the academy is going to, overall, improve the numbers when you consider the attrition that we're going through," Assistant Police Chief Eddie Garcia said.
Police brass acknowledge that historically many recruits reject the offer, drop out or take jobs in other departments after graduation.
Others are discouraged by the low academy numbers.
"It means that we have no chance this year of keeping up with the resignations and the retirements," said James Gonzales, Police Officers Association president. "And it means we are in big trouble."
Meanwhile, the city and police union are still far apart in settling pension and benefit issues that the department said would help it recruit.
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The dwindling number of recruits could also lead to a revamping of the academy.
"We're hoping that trend will improve, but looking ahead -- if the numbers stay consistent -- we may have to start thinking about different models to make it more efficient," Garcia said.
