Photo courtesy of Nichole Aber In a file photo, students at Alexandria Technical and Community College took part in Police Training and Education. PTE applications dropped sharply after 2021, but are on the rise again, an ATCC spokesperson said.

MARSHALL — Law enforcement candidates have gotten harder to find, local officials said this month. While agencies like the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office and the Marshall Police Department aren’t currently facing officer shortages, the candidate pool for hiring new officers has shrunk in recent years.

“Recruitment is difficult for licensed staff, because not a lot of people are going into the profession,” said Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office was one of a couple of area law enforcement agencies doing a hiring search in January. This week, Wallen said there had been two applicants for an advertised deputy position, and neither would be able to immediately take the job.

In January the city of Minneota had also advertised for a new police chief, after former chief Bill Bolt announced his retirement. Bolt was the only police officer in the community.

“The town wants the adaptability of having police here,” Minneota City Administrator Rob Vidoloff said. Minneota contracted with Employment Plus of Willmar to conduct a search.

Wallen said the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office currently has 18 officers, and is searching for one full-time deputy. The new deputy would help keep the Sheriff’s Office at full staff while another deputy takes planned military leave.

As of this week, there had been two applicants for the position, Wallen said. One was still in school, and wouldn’t graduate until this spring, he said.

Finding deputies wasn’t the only hiring challenge facing the Sheriff’s Office. Earlier in January, the Lyon County Jail had three openings in a staff of 21, with an additional person on leave, Wallen said. He was also anticipating some future retirements among Lyon County dispatchers.

Marshall Public Safety Director Jim Marshall said the Marshall Police Department currently has 22 officers. While the department wasn’t facing a shortage of officers, the numbers of available candidates for law enforcement jobs have gone down over the years, Marshall said.

“Clearly, recruitment and retention is a concern we all have in law enforcement right now,” Marshall said.

Vidoloff said the city of Minneota had received 13 applications in its police chief search. However, the applicants came from all across the country.

Wallen said that 20 years ago, there could be as many as 30 applicants for a single law enforcement position. “Now, if I can get three (applicants), that’s like, ‘Wow,'” Wallen said. “We’re not getting the applications.”

The situation wasn’t unique to southwest Minnesota, he said. “When it comes to law enforcement, it’s a statewide struggle.”

Enrollment data from Alexandria Technical and Community College, which has a Police Training and Education program, showed a decline in law enforcement students over the past 15 years. Data from ATCC said total law enforcement program enrollment went from 521 in the 2010 fiscal year, to 253 in 2024. There were a total of 298 graduates of law enforcement programs in 2010, compared to 120 in 2024.

In its 2023-24 biennial report, the Minnesota POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) Board said there were a total of 10,670 active licensed peace officers statewide as of June 30. The POST Board issued a total of 625 peace officer licenses in the 2024 fiscal year, and 671 licenses in the 2023 fiscal year.

In the 2006 fiscal year, there were 771 peace officer licenses issued, POST Board statistics said.

Local officials said different factors, from job market competition to stigma around police, could affect the numbers of people going into law enforcement. It can be a challenge to encourage people to go into public jobs like law enforcement, Vidoloff said. “It’s hard to match private industry,” he said.

“People have different options as far as careers,” Marshall said. At the same time, he said, there was also more negativity towards police.

Wallen said his fear was that if law enforcement agencies couldn’t find good candidates, they might end up hiring less-qualified ones.

The number of students applying to law enforcement programs at ATCC dropped off sharply after 2021, said Jeff Wild, vice president of advancement and outreact at ATCC. However, the trend has changed in the past couple of years, said Jeff Wild. A total of 476 people applied for Police Training and Education programs for fall 2025. That was a 40% increase compared to this time last year, Wild said.

“We believe the increase is due to the statewide effort to support our law enforcement agencies and our officers. Higher wages and signing bonuses may contribute to the increase as well,” Rich said.

Rich said one of the ways the state of Minnesota is trying to help law enforcement agencies with hiring is through a career transition program called ICPOET (Intensive Comprehensive Peace Officer Education and Training).

ICPOET allows agencies to hire students who already have a two or four-year degree, and funds their PTE training, he said. “The participating agencies hire the candidate and can send them to train with ATCC or Hennepin Technical College. This program could fund over 90 students,” Rich said.

The fall 2024 ICPOET cohort at ATCC included 14 people from across Minnesota. More than 70% of the group were adult learners, over the age of 25.

Marshall and Wallen said law enforcement agencies have started offering incentives like tuition assistance, or conditional offers to candidates still in school, to help fill officer positions.

Marshall said the MPD has also tried to identify young people with connections to southwest Minnesota when searching for officers. “That’s what we’ve done with some of our last hires,” he said.

Wallen said he thought working to change some of people’s negative associations with law enforcement might also help improve recruitment and retention. “I think we need to do better at recruiting, and getting out in front of young people,” he said.