BOULDER, Colo. — The Boulder Police Department said it's increasing recruitment efforts for more officers after at least two shootings on University Hill recently.
Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold told Boulder City Council members this week, the department has been short officers for the last two and half years.
"Right now we are down 29 officers," Herold said. "We desperately need to get those numbers up because it has taken a toll and the community harm that we have seen is real."
The Boulder Police Department said they have a budget for 190 officers right now and funding is not the issue when it comes to adding more staff.
"It is our desire, it is our hope, we can fill these positions as quickly as possible," Herold said.
The challenge the department said its facing is low enrollment. It's a common issue many other law enforcement agencies are dealing with across the state.
However, the Boulder Police Department has a higher quality standard for officers than some other departments.
Boulder requires a college degree, military experience or a transfer from another law enforcement agency, according to the City of Boulder.
Sarah Huntley, a spokesperson for the City of Boulder, said the city would like to maintain a higher standard when hiring law enforcement members.
"Police chiefs have really valued the critical thinking skills, potentially better de-escalation skills that come up from those types of backgrounds," Huntley said.
"I don't want just any officer. I don't want to downgrade the qualification," Herold said. "I don't want to do that. It's too important."
She said they had 20 applicants apply last week and 20 more are in the process of being interviewed next week.
Until more officers are hired, Boulder Police officers will be required to work mandatory overtime and some members from the Boulder Police Department SWAT team are helping fill in officer shifts to help with patrols.
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