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

What the job looks like at El Cajon Police

126 swornStarts at $105,102Not hiring new officers nowApplicant Score 54
Calls for service
About 452 a day

165,000 a year. Undated yearly average handled by the Communications Center, per the department. Officers also stopped 5,693 people in 2024. Most common reason for a stop: disturbance or disorderly conduct, 13%.

First assignment
Not published
Busiest hour for stops
10am to 11am
14% of stops are overnight
11th of 11
Stops that came from a call
21%
The rest the officer started
4th of 11
Median stop length
10 min

What El Cajon Police officers stop people for

Disturbance or disorderly conduct13%
Red light, stop sign or traffic sign13%
Registration, plates or insurance10%
Phone use while driving8%
Lights, tint or equipment7%
Lane, turn or right-of-way violation6%
Speeding6%
Drugs5%
Theft, burglary or stolen property4%
Assault, battery, robbery or threats3%
Everything else26%

The main reason recorded for each of 5,693 people stopped in 2024, grouped from the offense code. Service calls with no detention are not in this data.

When the work happens

14% of stops happen between 10pm and 5am, 11th of 11.

El Cajon Police
Average of 11
12am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pm

Darker means a larger share of stops in that hour.

How the work is done

Each dot is one of 11 departments. El Cajon Police is highlighted.

On foot43% 2nd of 11
0%20%40%
For a traffic violation53% 10th of 11
0%20%40%60%80%100%
After a call for service21% 4th of 11
0%20%40%
Person perceived as unhoused21% 1st of 11
0%20%40%

How stops end

Verbal warning30% 8th of 11
0%20%40%60%
Citation30% 7th of 11
0%20%40%
Arrest14% 4th of 11
0%20%40%
Psychiatric hold2% 6th of 11
0%20%40%

One person can have more than one outcome, so these do not add to 100%.

When a stop starts with a call

Ends in arrest30% 8th of 11
0%20%40%60%
Ends in a psychiatric hold8% 8th of 11
0%20%40%

Searches and handcuffs

Person searched18% 3rd of 11
0%20%40%
Handcuffed8% 7th of 11
0%20%40%
Agencies differ in how consistently they record handcuffing and searches, so small gaps between departments may not be real.

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.

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