The Police IndexStop data: 2024 · Pay and hiring checked Nov 2026

El Cajon Police Department

126 swornStarts at $105,102Not hiring new officers nowApplicant Score 54

City police department for El Cajon with about 126 sworn positions. Divisions listed in its job posting include Patrol, Traffic, Investigations, K9 and a crime laboratory.

Department size
126 sworn
Sworn police personnel, city demographics page, undated (read 2026)
Calls for service a year
165,000
Undated yearly average handled by the Communications Center, per the department. About 452 a day
Chief
Jeremiah Larson
Per the department home page (archived copy dated Aug 14, 2026)

About El Cajon Police

Filled: El Cajon city limits, within western San Diego County. Outlines: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files, 2023, 1:500,000.
Committed to a safe and secure community through service, mutual cooperation, and respect.Mission statement, source
Area covered
Polices the City of El Cajon in San Diego County. The city lists a population of 102,337 and an area of 14.4 square miles.
Headquarters
100 Civic Center Way, El Cajon, CA 92020

Departments next door

Departments whose areas border this one. Most applicants shortlist by where they want to work.

Compare El Cajon Police with its neighbors

A typical day at El Cajon Police

Calls for service
About 452 a day
165,000 a year. Undated yearly average handled by the Communications Center, per the department
People stopped
About 16 a day
5,693 in 2024. A stop is a detention or search.
Busiest hour for stops
10am to 11am
14% of stops happen between 10pm and 5am.
El Cajon Police
Average of 11
12am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pm

Darker means a larger share of stops in that hour.

What officers do on the job

Working here

The last Police Recruit posting (26-42) closed Nov 8, 2026, with testing set for Nov 21, 2026. The lateral and academy graduate posting is open continuously.
A $25,000 lateral signing bonus was on the department's recruiting site in January 2024. It is not on the current recruiting page, so confirm it with the department.

Sources, checked Nov 13, 2026: El Cajon Police Department home page (mission, chief, address) · Join the ECPD Team recruiting page · Police Department employment page (hiring steps) · Police Recruit class specification (annual pay, age, requirements) · Police Officer class specification (hourly pay) · Police Recruit job posting 26-23 (process, PELLETB rules, shifts) · Police Recruit posting 26-42, third-party copy (dates only) · Police Officer (Lateral/Academy Graduate) job posting 25-17 · City of El Cajon demographics (population, area, sworn count) · Communications Division page (calls for service) · Old recruiting site, archived Jan 11, 2024 (lateral bonus) · PORAC job board listing, not official (bonus amounts) · California DOJ stop data, 2024

Agency colors not applied yet. They are only used once pulled from the agency's own site.

Photo: El Cajon valley. North American Monsoon from El Cajon, Ca - panoramio.jpg by Robert DuHamel, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and tinted.

Compare El Cajon Policevs Harbor Policevs Oceanside PolicePick departments