City of Knoxville, TN
01/20/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/20/2026 19:18
KPD Now Fully Staffed
Mayor Indya Kincannon opened tonight's City Council meeting by applauding the Police Department's efforts to recruit and train quality officers, celebrating KPD being fully staffed for the first time in more than a decade.
The Mayor issued a proclamation, recognizing the tireless work of KPD's Field Training Officers and Chief Paul Noel, as well as the collective efforts of the KPD, Human Resources and Civil Service staffs to develop collaborative successful strategies for recruiting and training the best service-minded candidates to become police officers in Knoxville.
In 2025, KPD hosted three Police Academy classes, hiring 118 recruits.
Mayor Kincannon has for six years in office emphasized public safety as job No. 1 - and she's backed that up with funding.
Two years ago, she budgeted for targeted pay increases for front-line police officers. The action was necessary to keep their salaries and benefits competitive with law-enforcement agencies that at the time paid better than KPD. Starting pay for new officers is currently about $58,000 - among the best salaries in the region.
In other business tonight, City Council authorized funding for software and police equipment:
KPD's new technology
A $9.4 million amendment to KPD's existing agreement with Axon Enterprise allows the Police Department to continue its technological modernization.
For example, KPD will be purchasing 12 drones equipped with cameras that can better guide officers and provide them with real-time information as they are driving to the scene of emergency calls for service.
Additional purchases will equip Knoxville police officers with more body-worn and in-car cameras and replacement license plate readers.
The drones and 10 mounted stationary cameras will be part of the new Real Time Information Center, which will enable KPD to more efficiently and effectively respond to life-threatening emergencies. The footage is not retained long-term unless it's evidence in a criminal case, and strict privacy safeguards will be in place.
Financial operations software
City Council tonight authorized Mayor Kincannon's administration to invest $2.1 million in much-needed software to support the City's financial operations.
The expanded agreement with Highstreet IT Solutions will allow the City to transfer data to Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP. The existing on-premise software - now 22 years old - is nearing its end of life.
The Mayor issued a proclamation, recognizing the tireless work of KPD's Field Training Officers and Chief Paul Noel, as well as the collective efforts of the KPD, Human Resources and Civil Service staffs to develop collaborative successful strategies for recruiting and training the best service-minded candidates to become police officers in Knoxville.
In 2025, KPD hosted three Police Academy classes, hiring 118 recruits.
Mayor Kincannon has for six years in office emphasized public safety as job No. 1 - and she's backed that up with funding.
Two years ago, she budgeted for targeted pay increases for front-line police officers. The action was necessary to keep their salaries and benefits competitive with law-enforcement agencies that at the time paid better than KPD. Starting pay for new officers is currently about $58,000 - among the best salaries in the region.
In other business tonight, City Council authorized funding for software and police equipment:
KPD's new technology
A $9.4 million amendment to KPD's existing agreement with Axon Enterprise allows the Police Department to continue its technological modernization.
For example, KPD will be purchasing 12 drones equipped with cameras that can better guide officers and provide them with real-time information as they are driving to the scene of emergency calls for service.
Additional purchases will equip Knoxville police officers with more body-worn and in-car cameras and replacement license plate readers.
The drones and 10 mounted stationary cameras will be part of the new Real Time Information Center, which will enable KPD to more efficiently and effectively respond to life-threatening emergencies. The footage is not retained long-term unless it's evidence in a criminal case, and strict privacy safeguards will be in place.
Financial operations software
City Council tonight authorized Mayor Kincannon's administration to invest $2.1 million in much-needed software to support the City's financial operations.
The expanded agreement with Highstreet IT Solutions will allow the City to transfer data to Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP. The existing on-premise software - now 22 years old - is nearing its end of life.
City of Knoxville, TN published this content on January 20, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on January 21, 2026 at 01:18 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]