Despite hiring and recruiting efforts, the number of sworn police officers at the Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Department remains below the 39 positions the department budgeted for.

Police Chief Jamie Field presented her second report of the year on the status of the department’s services at a Los Gatos City Council meeting on August 20. Field’s report outlined the department’s work in areas such as recruitment, hiring and community outreach.

While new hires have increased the number of sworn officers to 33, three of those officers are currently unavailable due to injuries or training, Fields’ report said. The department has lost 39 officers since 2018, according to the report.

Although nine officers left the department in the first half of 2024, the department managed to replace almost all of them.

“We were actually able to recruit seven sworn members, which is the highest number I can remember, and even those older than me can remember records,” Field said. “So that was very exciting because it’s quite a testament to our efforts.”

In addition to the officers, the department’s dispatcher positions are also thinly staffed: only six of eight positions are filled.

“The data reflects observations by some long-time residents that they may not see marked patrol cars as frequently because there are not as many police officers available as there once were,” the report said. “Officers have more roles and responsibilities, with the department’s staffing model not growing in line with call volume, mandates and population.”

The department has attempted to address the staffing shortage by hiring community service and reserve police officers as well as dispatchers on a daily basis.

The department’s communications staff worked a total of 1,211 hours of overtime from January to June of this year, a decrease from the 1,771 hours of overtime employees worked during the same period in 2023. The department’s sworn staff worked a total of 4,724 hours of overtime from January to June of this year, a slight increase from the 4,614 hours of overtime they worked during the same period last year.

According to the report, the department conducted interviews with dispatchers and officers every two months and maintained high standards for its employees.

The report finds that the department’s standards for its officers – who must have at least 60 college credits or four years of military service with an honorable discharge – exceed the minimum requirements of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

“The ability to demonstrate a minimum number of college credits or military service demonstrates aptitude, independent drive and commitment to complete a field training program, investigation or police report,” the report said.