The Jersey Shore city needs 70 part-time police officers for next summer. Only 5 applied.

Like many seaside cities, Atlantic City relies on part-time police officers to handle the influx of seasonal visitors and control the boardwalk during hot weather.

City officials, however, say they are struggling to find enough applicants to fill their summer needs, losing potential hires to full-time police positions in other cities that offer higher salaries and benefits.

The situation has the city considering whether to end the SLEO Class II program for additional officers to replace the full-time officers that will be hired before next summer.

“We (Atlantic City) need to start moving very quickly and aggressively to start preparing for the summer,” City Councilman Halim Shabazz said during a September meeting of Clean and Safe, an initiative where city officials talk about community concerns.

The lawmaker said he is preparing to introduce legislation at an upcoming City Council meeting to end the program, allowing the city to prioritize hiring full-time employees.

The need for officers coincides with an increase in crime in Atlantic City, officials said. Police Chief James Sarkos said during the meeting that his department has received more than 96,000 calls for service this year. During this period, police arrested 3,883 people, compared with 3,049 last year. Sarcos said the change reflected growth of 27.3% from last year.

Police have also recovered more than 100 firearms this year.

The city has enough funding to hire 70 part-time officers through the program, Sarcos said. So far, only five, all of whom are retired police officers, have expressed interest, he said.

With fewer officers, the force had to reshuffle its personnel during the mission, including reassigning officers to the boardwalk, Sarcos said.

“The one thing I am 100 percent in favor of is bringing back retired second class officers,” Sarcos said. “They are trained and I don’t have to invest extra money in them. When we get a young second-class officer, we are simply wasting money. Once we hire them, they go somewhere else.”

The decision to scrap the program would mirror a similar move by Ocean City, Maryland, Shabazz said. The city announced plans to stop offering seasonal police positions at the end of 2024, calling seasonal work one of the most in-demand summer jobs.

Atlantic City remains under state government oversight as part of years-long oversight of the resort city’s assets. Absorption that Gov. Phil Murphy’s term extended into 2021. and set to expire next year, allows government officials to control city spending, including hiring and firing employees.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which is managing the takeover through its local government services, did not respond to NJ Advance Media’s request for comment.

Protecting the city’s boardwalk, perhaps its most important landmark, has been a priority for police, who have relied on specially hired officers in recent years. They were placed in substations along the boardwalk to better control the crowd.

Programs like Atlantic City’s have also traditionally been a pathway for aspiring officers interested in a career in law enforcement. Sarcos said the number of applicants has dropped sharply, a problem he attributes to a broader decline in interest in police work.

The Class II officers were funded by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the state agency that oversees Atlantic City’s tourism district, until 2022, city officials said. From 2020 to 2022, he contributed $1.5 million.

The city allocated $897,000 for these officers this year.

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Eric Conklin can be contacted at [email protected].