COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — During a press conference on Thursday morning, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said the police department surpassed 800 sworn officers for the first time.
The city said the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) reached 805 officers in April 2025. The department is authorized to have 839 officers.
Mayor Mobolade said this is an important staffing milestone as the city has intentionally put funds toward recruiting officers. CSPD currently accepts applications year-round for police academies that start every 15 weeks.
"While this progress is worth celebrating, we also recognize that we're not even close to where we need to be to meet the needs of a growing city and deliver the level of public safety that our residents expect and deserve," said Mayor Mobolade.
CSPD Chief Adrian Vasquez said increased personnel could specifically help with traffic enforcement. He said the department's motor unit, which is authorized to have 23 officers, is now short three officers instead of eight.
"The number one request by our citizens is traffic enforcement," said Chief Vasquez. "So we've been able to increase something like our motor unit, to get out there, write more tickets, really be more present, which slows people down."
A spokesperson for CSPD said the department lost an average of seven officers per month in 2024. This year through April, the department lost an average of four employees per month, according to CSPD.
The spokesperson said 50% of officer attrition is generally due to retirement. CSPD said 25% of the officers who leave are newly hired and employed for less than a year. The remaining 25% is a combination of people leaving law enforcement for another career field, personal reasons, relocation, resignations, and terminations, according to the department.
Over the past few years, recruiting and retaining officers has been challenging for local police departments. Data from CSPD shows the department saw a sizeable decrease in sworn personnel in 2021. The department said that due to fluctuating staffing numbers and retirements, there are currently 799 officers employed at the department.
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