At 24 years old, Bohdan Sokolov has already achieved a goal that many of his fellow college graduates are still reaching for. 

“I wake up every day, you know, excited to go to work,” Sokolov said. 

His job as a police officer makes him one of 54 sworn members of the Mankato Department of Public Safety.

Sokolov is already earning high praise from his superiors, including Commander Chris Baukol.

“He’s exactly what we’re looking for,” Baukol said. “He’s ambitious, he’s a problem solver. He wants to be out there in the community.”

The problem for Mankato and many other police departments across Minnesota is that there are not enough people like Sokolov signing up for the job, according to a recent 5 INVESTIGATES review of application data from the 25 largest law enforcement agencies in the state. 

Still struggling

Law enforcement groups declared a nationwide ‘recruiting crisis’ in 2021 following a number of high-profile incidents and controversies, including the killing of George Floyd, which prompted unsuccessful calls to ‘defund’ the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). 

An initial review of application data by 5 INVESTIGATES in 2021 found a mixed bag for Minnesota law enforcement agencies – many were still operating at 90% of their authorized force or better and the number of people taking the statewide licensing exam to become a police officer had increased over the three previous years. 

But since then, the number of new applicants has continued to decline for many agencies, including Mankato.

“The numbers that we’re seeing, or actual applicants, is not really good,” Baukol said. “That’s why we’re really trying to focus on the quality of those applicants and really try to pull them in early.”

One exception, so far, appears to be MPD, which reported receiving more than 500 applications last year compared to numbers that ranged between two and three hundred. 

However, updated data from the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) now shows the number of people who passed the licensing exam has fallen nearly 10 points since 2021. 

Ups and downs

5 INVESTIGATES first interviewed Sokolov and three of his college classmates in 2021 when they were students in Dr. Pat Nelson’s criminal justice class at Minnesota State University Mankato. 

Similar to local police departments, MSU’s Department of Criminal Justice continues to struggle with getting enough young people into its program. 

“Recruiting to get them into the academics, recruiting to get them into the agencies? We don’t have as big a pool as we’ve had before, but the ones we have in that pool are going into it and they’re passionate about it,” Nelson said.

She cautions that the dip in statewide numbers is likely not a permanent trend. 

“In law enforcement, we always have those ups and downs,” Nelson said. “We have those political ups and downs and you need to stay steady through it and remember that your commitment to your community is independent of those political ups and downs.”

‘No regrets’

Now, with one year of being on patrol under his belt, Sokolov says he would not change anything.

“I would do it every time again… no regrets,” Sokolov said. 

And he is not the only one interviewed by 5 INVESTIGATES in 2021 who continued to pursue a career in law enforcement. 

Jacob Glogowski, 25, recently became a deputy with the Nicollet County Sheriff’s Office.

“Every challenge I’ve had to encounter has required a different solution,” Glogowski said. “I just have a deeper appreciation for the field because it’s a lot different when you’re in college.”

Police brass and educators say their stories are a reason to be optimistic about the future. 

“A part of that is embracing the field and the profession as being honorable again,” Nelson said. “And I think we’re starting to see that swing.”