Police department vacancies are climbing in the Triangle, with data showing the Raleigh Police Department currently has 58 vacancies and the Durham Police Department has 146 vacancies.

In Durham, recent pay raises could help the vacancy rate of 27%. In June, WRAL News reported Durham police officers are due to receive pay increases after the Durham City Council’s unanimously approved the city’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

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Under the changes, officers who started at $47,938 per year will increase to $54,817. The starting pay for recruits will be $51,379, and the top pay for Durham officers will be $89,291.

Sgt. Roger Lafferty, a member of the Durham Police Department for 16 years, said another game changer for recruiting could be Durham's new partnership with the Army.

"Veterans who are getting out of the military and getting ready to transition to civilian life can go ahead and apply with our department, and being a partner with the Army guarantees them an interview," Lafferty explained.

In June, WRAL News looked at the starting salaries for new police officers around the Triangle.

When looking at starting salaries for police officers, Raleigh is a little bit more than $55,000, Durham is at almost $55,000, and Fayetteville is around $50,000. Many agencies also offer hiring bonuses, and if officers are hired with experience, their pay could be higher.

Departments in Charlotte, Fuquay-Varina and Wake Forest offer starting salaries of more than $56,000.

Even though Raleigh is among those high on the list, the Raleigh Police Department has about a 10% vacancy rate.

Matthew Cooper, president of the the Raleigh Police Protective Association, said a recent 5% pay raise helped, but police are hopeful for more funding.

"The last couple of years have been a challenge, because we still have been losing officers to other agencies, and we also have been losing officers to regular attrition, which would be retirement," Cooper said. "You need to reward your veteran officers and veteran employees to let them know they're appreciated and that they're not forgotten once they've been hired."

Both the Raleigh and Durham police departments will host hiring events this week:

Durham Police Department
6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14
602 E. Main St., Durham
You can attend in person or online. Click here to register for virtual attendance.

Raleigh Police Department
9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Nov. 16
2320 Law Enforcement Drive, Raleigh