Capitol Police recruitment became a major priority after the January 6 attack exposed serious security gaps and accelerated calls for reform. In the years that followed, the U.S. Capitol Police worked to grow its ranks, strengthen operations, and meet an expanding mission tied to threats against lawmakers and their families. But Capitol Police recruitment alone has not solved the problem.
Now, the agency is confronting the harder truth that many law enforcement organizations across the country face.
Hiring officers is only one side of the equation. Keeping them is the real challenge.
During a recent budget hearing, Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan made clear that retention has become one of the department’s most pressing problems. The agency continues to recruit, but it is also losing officers to retirement, burnout, and better offers from competing agencies. That dynamic creates a revolving door that weakens staffing stability, drives up overtime, and puts pressure on morale.
Sullivan told lawmakers the department is seeing roughly 24 recruits per month, though not every recruit completes the process. At the same time, the department says it needs around 500 additional staff over current sworn levels to fully meet operational demands.
Recruitment is also being hurt by the same labor market forces affecting police agencies nationwide. Officers today have more choices. Federal agencies and local departments alike are competing for the same pool of qualified candidates. In many cases, rival employers can offer signing bonuses, stronger pay packages, more predictable schedules, or a better quality of life. That makes retention especially difficult for agencies that rely heavily on overtime or operate in high-stress environments.
The result is a dangerous cycle. Staffing shortages create more overtime. More overtime hurts morale. Lower morale drives more attrition. More attrition then forces the department to rely even more on Capitol Police recruitment just to stay in place rather than move forward.
Doug Larsen, the COO of Safeguard Recruiting, has successfully staffed law enforcement agencies and agrees that retention is the glue that holds it all together.
“We talk to our clients about this, and it’s important they understand that there are two sides to recruiting and that includes retention,” Larsen said.
Larsen said that his company has partnered with ResponderSafety to address the retention issue, and they are seeing more agencies address this in a positive way.
“
