Yilan Police Vacancies Rise Above 10% as Auditors Flag Severe Shortage in Front-Line Staff

Yilan County’s police staffing shortfall climbed above 10% last year, prompting the county audit office to call for changes to front-line staffing.

The Yilan County Audit Office said the police department had a budgeted complement of 1,382 officers from 2023 through 2025. Actual staffing fell from 1,294 officers in 2023 to 1,271 in 2024 and 1,239 last year. The resulting vacancies rose from 88 to 111 and then 143, while the vacancy rate increased from 6.37% to 8.03% and 10.35%.

Front-line units accounted for 93 of last year’s vacancies, or 65.03% of the total. The Yilan Police Precinct had the largest shortfall, with 23 vacant posts and a vacancy rate of 10.41%. The Suao Police Precinct followed with 21 vacancies and a rate of 13.21%.

Auditors said the figures showed a serious shortage in front-line police staffing. They asked the department to improve personnel allocation, maintain public order and reduce officers’ workloads. Yilan police said the National Police Agency had assigned 33 examination recruits this year. The department also requested priority allocations before graduates from the Central Police University and Taiwan Police College are distributed, while reviewing vacancies and workload across its units.