The FBI saw its number of special agent applicants drop for a fourth straight year, the Wall Street Journal reports.
FBI data found 11,500 applicants applied to become a special agent in the 2018 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30.
The federal law enforcement agency saw a peak of 68,500 applicants in 2009.
“We had a lot of discussion internally about why the number of special agent applicants were fluctuating so much over the years. We were trying to figure out what’s the story,” Peter Sursi, who runs recruitment and hiring at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
The FBI’s focus on boosting recruitment comes after its handling of investigations, which includes Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. President Donald Trump has called the investigation a “witch hunt.” It began as an FBI inquiry and still uses the bureau’s resources.
The FBI has also seen changes in leadership, including Trump’s firing of Director James Comey in 2017 and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions firing Deputy Director Andrew McCabe in 2018.
However, data shows a decrease in applications started before more recent controversies. In 2013, only 9,000 people applied to be a special agent. The FBI told the Wall Street Journal it needs about 16,000 applicants to get a healthy pool of candidates to fill the 900 special agent positions that open each year.
Anyone interested in becoming an FBI special agent can go to the agency’s website to apply.
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