For the first time in three years, the police department is making plans to train and hire a new crop of officers. It's still a long ways off, possibly in late 2013, but in two committee meetings before the City Council, senior police officials in the past week have made it clear they're gearing up for a round of hires.

Sworn staffing levels at the Minneapolis Police Department peaked at 916 in 2008, according to the department. It's since dropped to 849, and retirements will cut that number down to 827 by the end of this year. The department's smallest staff in the past ten years was 794 in 2004, according to department statistics.

Retirements have fluctuated between 17 and 48 sworn officers each year for the past decade, but could increase in the next few years due to an aging work force. Some 64 percent of the department is aged 40 or older, with less than 8 percent in their 20's.

A short term solution for the department's staffing will likely include the rehiring of a group of Community Service Officers who were laid off two years ago before they could complete their rotation into the department as full-time officers. The part-time CSOs work for the department in a non-enforcement role while attending an approved two-year law enforcement program. The city pays for their tuition and books, and if the CSO performs well they're considered for a promotion to full-time police officer. The group of 12 all completed their training and have become certified by the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, meaning they could get hired by any police department in the state. To recoup their investment in this group before they're hired elsewhere, the Minneapolis department would like to hire them on, said Deputy Police Chief Scott Gerlicher.

The department requested $400,000 to pay the part-time salaries of the group through the end of this year. They would likely get hired on by January of next year, he said.