New era in police recruitment: Courting hearts and minds
Associated Press
The Dallas Police Department is trying hire Memphis officers. Other departments entice recruits by playing up the drama and heroism of policing. Some are trying to offer better pay and benefits.
But most of all, cognizant of the recent turmoil over officer-involved deaths in Missouri, Baltimore and elsewhere, America’s police chiefs are looking for compassionate men and women who are in the field to do good.
Take Victor Ransom, whose first assignment as an officer in Jersey City, New Jersey, is bringing him to familiar territory: his own neighborhood. The 34-year-old former Marine is eager to hit the streets and gain the trust of his community.
“I know what they’re saying out there. I can hear them,” said Ransom, one of seven new black officers in New Jersey’s second-largest city. “I want to show them it’s not always one way.”
Police recruiting has entered a new age. Scrutiny and hostility for officers has increased. Hampered by low pay and threats to generous pension plans, some of the country’s largest police forces saw significant drops in applicants long before chants of “hands up, don’t shoot,” “I can’t breathe” and “black lives matter” entered the national conversation. Attaining and maintaining diversity remains a challenge.
The obstacles police departments face postFerguson make some potential officers think, “‘Is that an occupation that I want to do?”’ said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.
Departments are seeing a mix of failure and success in attracting applicants.
New York, which offers its written exam six days a week, saw the number of police applicants fall from about 28,000 in 2008 to 12,000 in 2014. It’s now working on a project to reengage black applicants and plans to add nearly 1,300 officers.
Los Angeles saw the number of people filling out a preliminary application fall from about 33,000 in 2011 to 26,546 in 2014. Its recruiting website promotes a recent pay raise for officers.
Las Vegas has seen an uptick in recruiting, Lt. Chris Little said, because his department is seen as more progressive and technologically advanced than others in the state.
Phoenix, which stopped recruiting for five years because of budget cuts, resumed its written exam last year and garnered close to 1,000 applicants in five sessions with minimal recruiting effort. It also poached 15 officers from other departments and has added 19 officers this year, including some taking the written exam, Sgt. Trent Crump said.
In Pennsylvania, a union warns of the potential exodus of 1,000 state troopers if they are included in a plan to trim state and local police benefits and eliminate guaranteed pensions for new hires.