US EditionFBI, DOJ Ease Hiring Rules to Fill Staffing Shortages
The agencies are waiving some tests, shortening training and loosening prosecutor rules as they try to rebuild depleted ranks.
- The FBI and the Justice Department are accelerating recruitment and relaxing hiring requirements to rebuild depleted workforces, a move current and former officials criticize as lowering long-accepted professional standards.
- Mounting staffing shortages prompted these changes, as the Justice Department acknowledged losing nearly 1,000 assistant U.S. attorneys and the National Security Division reported a 40% drop in prosecutors.
- FBI Director Kash Patel, aiming to "let good cops be cops," introduced nine-week training for agency transfers and waived assessments for support staff seeking to become agents.
- The Justice Department also recently suspended a policy requiring at least one year of experience for prosecutors, now hiring candidates directly out of law school to fill vacancies.
- While the FBI defends these moves as "streamlining" rather than lowering standards, critics argue that waiving assessments and accelerating promotions risk eroding expertise in complex investigations.
48 Articles
48 Articles
Santa New Mexican
Fears of looser standards as the FBI and Justice Department scramble to fill a depleted workforce
Leaders are easing hiring requirements and accelerating recruitment in ways that some current and former officials see as a lowering of long-accepted standards.
The Columbian
Resignations and firings have depleted the FBI and Justice Department. They’re scrambling to rebuild
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI and Justice Department are scrambling to rebuild a depleted workforce after a wave of departures over the past year, with leaders easing hiring requirements and accelerating recruitment in ways that some current and former officials see as a lowering of long-accepted standards. Read more...
The FBI is easing hiring requirements and turning to social media to attract applicants to rebuild workforce depleted by firings and resignations
At the same time, the Justice Department has opened the door to hiring prosecutors right out of law school to help fill vacancies in U.S. attorney’s offices across the country.
Associated Press News
Resignations and firings have depleted the FBI and Justice Department. They're scrambling to rebuild
The FBI and Justice Department are scrambling to rebuild a depleted workforce after a wave of departures over the last year.
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