Reaching Passive Police Candidates

Think a police recruiting crisis is draining the talent pool? We put that belief under a microscope and find a different truth: the candidates exist, but they’re not standing in line at job fairs. They’re working other jobs, scrolling on their phones, and weighing big life choices. With Doug Larson, COO of Safeguard Recruiting, we unpack how modern outreach and smart follow-up convert passive curiosity into sworn officers.

We start by reframing the 80–20 pattern most agencies feel—why core ranks stay filled while a stubborn gap lingers. Doug explains how legacy tactics like paper-heavy applications and rigid event signups quietly repel today’s prospects. Then we go tactical: targeted ads that run 24/7, mobile-first landing pages, and messaging that pairs urgency with empathy. Real images from your city, plain-language emails, and short, clear steps help candidates picture themselves on your team and understand exactly how to move forward.

The heart of the strategy is consistent, respectful nurturing. Many strong hires raise a hand, then pause to talk with family or sort schedules. Instead of losing them to silence, we outline a cadence of texts and emails that keep your department top of mind without becoming noise. Doug shares why branding matters for trust, how to track where candidates stall, and which touchpoints reignite momentum. The takeaway is simple and powerful: you don’t need more career fairs—you need a system that meets people where they are and stays with them until they’re ready.

If you’re leading recruitment or command staff and feel stuck on that last 20 percent, this conversation gives you a clear blueprint to fill the gap. Subscribe for more practical strategies, share this with a colleague who handles hiring, and leave a review to tell us what you’ll try first.

Safeguard Recruiting is owned and operated by first responders, and it is a public safety recruiting firm with a proven recruiting system that staffs agencies across the country. 

Reach out today for a free consultation and learn about our guarantee that will increase the number of candidates for your agency. 

Transcript

Welcome And Framing The “Crisis”

Travis Yates 0:00

Welcome back to the podcast. We're so honored you're here. Once again, I have Doug Larson, the COO of Safeguard Recruiting. They're doing incredible work helping agency staff up. And every week he comes in and he gives us quick tips and tricks to help you immediately recruit the next generation of law enforcement. And Doug, one of the things that you always talk about is the power of the passive candidate. And I want to sort of briefly tell our audience what you mean by that.

The 80–20 Reality Of Staffing

Travis Yates 0:28

So when you read about the so-called recruiting crisis out there, and it's in every news article that you see, by the way, obviously that is a myth. That's not true. We know from 400 plus campaigns that there's plenty of people that want to do the job. It's just about how you're reaching out to them and what your processes and techniques are you're using, including your technology stack. But when you read about this and you see some of the articles, especially from some of the larger agencies, you'll see that they're down about 20, 25%, maybe 15%. At a smaller agency, it could be a 10-man department, it could be down two. It's just as drastic, right? But why is it that we we see this 80-20 type rule where 80% of the department seems to be staffed while the other 20% doesn't? And it's because of this issue of passive

Why Old Tactics Miss New Talent

Travis Yates 1:10

candidates. Most of these agencies, not all, but most of these agencies that are struggling are still using the techniques and processes they've used historically, whether that's job fairs or paper applications, or you got to register to go do the application, you got to show up at this event or else, or whatever it is, right? It's sort of like when I came on in uh '93, like, man, I took the test and I just waited the mailbox for six months. Nobody cared. I just I waited. Now they could do that because I was in a room with a thousand people and they were hiring nine. So they could get away with kind of doing that. Well, today, the new generation of any future employer, you can't do that way. And so industries across the globe have figured out you've got to reach these candidates differently. And so the reason that 80-20 rule is important is men, they're just 80% of the people. I know it could be give or take, a few percent, but let's just say it's 80. They're gonna do this job no matter what. They, when they were a kid, they said they were gonna be a police officer. When they were in college or high school, they're gonna be a police officer. So they're gonna do this job and they'll jump through the hoops, they'll wait it out, they'll keep calling. They're not a passive candidate. They're gonna do this job. But the rest of the 20%, we consider passive candidates, Doug. And that's where safeguard recruiting thrives because of the techniques and processes that

Defining And Valuing Passive Candidates

Travis Yates 2:24

you've built. You brought them into the modern age, it reaches the new generation of law enforcement, these kids between 21 and 31, kind of, you know, it's kind of you got to reach them differently. You're able to staff these agencies full by leveraging your techniques with these passive candidates. And passive candidates doesn't mean they don't want to necessarily be a police officer, doesn't mean they're not gonna be a great employee. It just means it really wasn't top of mind. That maybe they didn't even think about the job until it was presented to them. And that's what you do, Doug. So talk to us about how you reach those passive candidates and how you've seen that success staff these agencies full.

Doug Larsen 2:59

Yeah, exactly. We're gonna take that extra 20%, 30%, whatever it is the department needs. We'll fill that void for them by going out and sourcing candidates for

Always-On Sourcing And Follow-Up

Doug Larsen 3:10

them. And we do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by targeting them with ads and information to the right people to get them interested in your department. But you got to understand that life events may keep them from applying right now or going further in the process. So you don't want to just give up on somebody. If they show interest in your department, and some even fill out the application, but they can't move forward at that time. Don't break communication at that point. Keep in touch with them, keep letting them know about your department and when your events are coming up so they can move forward and keep talking to them so you know when they that you can bring them forward. But we will go out and we will touch the the right people, we'll we'll get them interested. Some that are saying, hey, yeah, I'm interested in law enforcement, I'm interested in this department. They just haven't taken that step. But we'll go and we'll reach them and we'll get enough touch points in there that they'll come into the process and start moving forward towards an applicant and a hire

Messaging, Branding, And Urgency

Doug Larsen 4:10

for you.

Travis Yates 4:10

So, Doug, when you talk about passive candidates, that can be very intricate, right? It's almost a different approach than those. I want to be a police officer my whole life and I watch live PD every weekend, right? Like it comes down to the images you use, the email messaging, what the messaging says, and to how you're reaching out to them constantly, right? And once again, it's not that they, it's not that they're not great police candidates. It's just, hey, they have a job or they really didn't think about it. And then all of a sudden, you're going to spark that interest to turn in from passive to an applicant. So talk to us about what you've done for some of our agencies when you've used some of these images and some of the copyright within the emails, because there is especially with that, and how you've seen this help.

Doug Larsen 4:55

Yes, you're exactly right. That messaging is very key in keeping this going. And keep in mind, people might be interested in working for your department, but they need to talk to their family. They need there's a lot of things that go on to be able to take those steps. And we keep them informed with the messaging, we we keep some urgency in the messaging, but we also we we can spread some of your department branding there too, and make them feel more a part of your department, comfortable with your department, so they're ready to take those next steps and they understand what those next steps are and how what they need to do to move forward. But it's key to stay

Tease For Next Week And Wrap

Doug Larsen 5:33

in constant contact with them. But we don't want that to be a recruiter that needs to call constantly. We we can do that through some electronic messaging that's very effective because our team has got dialed this in and it is it really works. It gets interest up to your department.

Travis Yates 5:50

And next week, you got to tune in because we're gonna talk about sort of the magic potion to turn these passive candidates into excited candidates with our topic next week. We're gonna leave that hanging for you. But for now, Doug, it's good stuff, it's something that I know a lot of people haven't thought of. They're wondering why recruiting down. Well, it's not about it's only it's not necessarily down, it's just a different way of reaching people passively. You didn't agencies didn't need passive candidates 20 years ago because there were 1,500 people trying to get 10 jobs and they weren't passive. And so that is the key that people aren't thinking about. It is more difficult to recruit passive candidates, but the beauty of safeguard recruiting is the agencies don't have to do it, Doug. You do it for them.

Doug Larsen 6:36

Yeah, we'll do it for them. They keep doing what they're doing, they get their numbers that they're getting, and we will come in over the top and and fill in that gap. And let's get everybody fully staffed so everybody can be safe and do the job they're they want to do.

Travis Yates 6:51

Good stuff, Doug Larson, Safeguard Recruiting. You can reach him at safeguardrecruiting.com. Thanks for watching, thanks for listening. We'll see you next week.