St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden is optimistic that the removal of the residency requirement for his department will help fill several vacancies -- perhaps leading to a net increase of about 100 officers over the next year. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the department is authorized to have 1,349 officers but is currently 129 officers short. On Monday, Gov. Mike Parson signed a law repealing the long-standing residency requirement. Hayden said Tuesday during a Public Safety Committee meeting that he is hopeful the change will lead to double the number of applicants for city police officer jobs.