Amid recruiting challenges of recent years, the San Francisco Police Department is set to graduate more recruits from the police academy than is has since before the COVID-19 pandemic. There are a total of 60 recruits training currently, but the department is still understaffed by hundreds.

“I love the enthusiasm from the mayor and the chief, I’m more realistic. We know in reality that we have people that do wash out of the academy because this is not the job for them,” Lt. Tracy McCray, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association told NBC Bay Area.

The city said it needs 500 more officers, but police staffing has recently stopped declining.

Current classes underway at the SFPD Police Academy, according to a press release from the city, are:

• Class 282 — started this week with 19 recruits

• Classes 280 and 281, with a combined 41 recruits

Class 280 started in July and trainees will complete the academy in February. Class 281 began in September and will wrap up in May.

“This puts SFPD on track to graduate more recruits in 2024 than any year since the pandemic began,” the city’s press release said.

The city reports the department began to see an increase in applications at the end of 2022, noting that applications started to increase back to 2018 levels. The city said the San Francisco officers are among the highest-paid officers in the Bay Area.

The city attributes the recruiting success to:

• Increased stating pay

• Shifting to a dynamic academy class model

• Expanding outreach nationwide

• Reducing the hiring process by up to three months

• Expanding free one-day testing events

• Streamlining of the lateral hiring process

• Participating in the 30x30 Initiative

In March voters will decide if the city needs to increase staffing levels. If the voters approve a future tax to supply additional revenue to fund the cost of employing more sworn officers, then the city will set a minimum staffing number for the next five years.