The El Paso Police Department is Hiring

10 April 2025, El Paso, Texas, Alex Mendoza – Over the last three weeks, Southwest News Today has received 263 emails from El Pasosoans, who have indicated that when they phoned the police for help, they either took hours to respond or responded a day later. There were also 11 emails in which readers stated that they called to cancel a police response simply because of the time that passed from when they first called.

We understand and feel your frustration. Though we will call the El Paso Police Department out within our pages, we must defend them simultaneously.

When you call either 911 or the non-emergency telephone number, your call is given a classification. Where your call falls within that classification system will determine the priority of service you receive.

Let’s say you called 911 because someone was trespassing on your property. This type of call will receive a lower priority than an assault call. With the seeming rise in crime within El Paso, many calls are taking longer to garner a police response than we are typically used to.

Why is this happening?

Steven Zimmerman, in It’s Not Your Job, But Do It Anyway, provided a breakdown of what makes a police substation:

Here’s the reality: a Regional Command has the following:

• TAC – a specialized unit that may or may not count toward the total number of officers in the Lower Valley (We are using Mission Valley Regional Command as our example);
• PAR – the officers who do presentations in the community and mediation;
• CID – detectives;
• Traffic – they cover the roadways – traffic enforcement, and parade details; keep in mind traffic does not respond to 911 calls for service;
• Patrol – officers who respond to 911 calls.

The total number of sworn officers in Mission Valley, which we count as the Sergeants, Lieutenants, or commanders, is 103 and is divided among these units. Remember that patrol is the only unit responding to 911 calls, and CID is the detectives who work the case generated from your call.

“Think of this,” says an El Paso’s Westside patrol officer. Sometimes, parts of town, different Regional Commands, will only have a couple of cars out, taking 911 calls. This is why some Commanders have detectives working overtime as a patrol. This will cause cases to suffer.”

The above means a finite number of patrol cars on shift daily. Patrol is the only unit responding to both emergency and non-emergency calls.

“It’s from patrol that many officers move out of,” said a member of the El Paso Police Department who spoke with me as long as I do not reveal his name. “Officers are worn out, worn down, and want out of patrol. We are overworked, and we need the Chief to find a way to keep officers in patrol.”

Many officers assigned to patrol will be promoted out of patrol or transferred to other specialized units, such as traffic or DWI/DUI units. They usually request these transfers, believing the new assignments will be easier and less demanding. While I can sympathize with wanting to find new opportunities, I cannot support the lack of units on patrol helping the people of El Paso.

One common thread in all the emails we have received is the belief that police department officers do not care and do not want to perform their duties. That is not further from the truth.

As I’ve laid out in this article, the El Paso Police Department is understaffed and at its breaking point.

There is a saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” The time is now for our city’s young men and women to look within themselves and determine if they want to be that change and help ensure the safety of their families, neighbors, and community.

While we are critical of the El Paso Police Department, we are only critical in hopes of being a catalyst for change and, as Steven Zimmerman says, giving a voice to the officers when the police department seeks to silence their voices.

If you feel called to wear the badge, you may explore the police recruitment page below.