Police dept. reflects area’s diversity
This past week, the Orlando Police Department welcomed the first recruiting class of 2022 to the City of Orlando and the Orlando Police Department family.
You will find that the Orlando Police Department serves a very diverse and inclusive community. It is our mission in our department’s recruitment efforts, that we mirror the diversity of the community we serve. In an equitable society, reflecting the diversity of our community in the workforce is vital for both the public and private sector.
These new officers incorporate the diversity of the city we serve, with officers who speak Chinese, Creole, and Spanish. Their families also come from other parts of the world just like the many residents who call Orlando home. Among the eleven recruits, there are seven who have served our great nation in the U.S. military and two from other law enforcement agencies.
It is also vital for a law enforcement agency that we provide the best training and technology that prepares our officers to respond to different situations. These new recruits had to complete a five-month police academy and receive an additional eight weeks of orientation training by our staff on high liability areas and topics such as de-escalation and duty to intervene. Diverse topics such as autism awareness and engaging with transgender persons are also incorporated in orientation and year-round training.
With the support we have received from our city leaders, federal and state funding, and our great training staff, the best training, tools, and technology have been provided to these recruits to ensure they are able to perform their duties safely. They will continue to expand their knowledge and equip themselves with critical year-round training.
Regardless of what makes us different, officers must embrace and adhere to an oath to serve and protect. What we have in common is a commitment to serve our community in a role where historically few will ever have the honor to do so.
This honor comes with a great deal of responsibility, and officers must never take this lightly.
As guardians of our city, officers are expected to serve all our residents, businesses, and visitors with professionalism, dedication, dignity and respect. Protecting the trust is a responsibility the members of the Orlando Police Department also share with our community.
To recruit officers that reflect the community we serve; we ask that our community help us in working with youth in the city of Orlando to encourage them to someday become officers themselves.
Take for example OPD’s Junior Reserve Law Enforcement Program. Hundreds of students at Jones High School and Lake Nona High School enrolled in this program. It is the Orlando Police Department’s mission, through this program, to further enhance our department’s connections to our youth and our community, but to also help us employ more people who live in this community, to serve this community.
The Orlando Police Department remains dedicated to hiring the most qualified candidates that reflect the diversity of our community. I am confident that with the support of our elected leaders, the Orlando Police Department will continue to be a model agency for others to follow as we progressively move towards a better future for our community and for the law enforcement profession.
Regardless of what makes us different, officers must embrace and adhere to an oath to serve and protect. What we have in common is a commitment to serve our community in a role where historically few will ever have the honor to do so. This honor comes with a great deal of responsibility, and officers must never take this lightly.
Orlando Rolón is the chief of the Orlando Police Department.