Police department uses coffee to hook potential recruits
FREMONT >> In its bid to fill the highest number of vacancies in four years, the Fremont Police Department has added a new recruiting tactic: coffee.
To give people curious about a career in local law enforcement a chance to chat with cops in a casual atmosphere, the department held its first-ever “Coffee with a Recruiter” event in Fremont on Dec. 20 at Suju’s Coffee & Tea, 4949 Stevenson Blvd.
The department has run many “Coffee with a Cop” events before — which are intended to connect residents with some of the officers who patrol their streets — but hadn’t until now used a coffee shop as a recruitment platform.
“I just happened to see it in my Facebook feed,” said Lisa, a Fremont resident who asked that her last name not be published. She talked with recruiters about becoming a dispatcher.
“Trying to hire people is rough right now,” said Officer Mike Gilfoy, the department’s main recruiter.
“We’re getting less applications, we’re getting people that are coming through that aren’t as good of applicants,” he said while standing near a table where he had set up informational handouts, police stickers, and a poster declaring that the department is hiring.
The department currently has 21 vacancies, though two new officers are poised to begin in the spring. Since the beginning of 2015, the city has added nine police officers to its budget, raising the total to 197 sworn positions, according to Gilfoy.
Although there’s enough money to hire officers, the department can’t do so fast enough to keep up with retirements.
Also, Gilfoy noted, “The unemployment rate is so low right now, there’s not that unemployment pool that we can pull from.”
During the coffee chat with recruiters, Gilfoy said he answers people’s questions directly and plays up positive aspects of the job, like a paid hour for exercising each shift, a good benefits package and a sense of purpose.
He also frequently fields questions about the dangers of the job. He said he tells people that being a cop means being a target at times, which is why he wears a bulletproof vest.
Fremont Police Chief Richard Lucero said in an email he believes violence against police officers across the country, and “a national narrative that diminishes the perception of their extraordinary dedication,” are partly to blame for the difficulty in filling vacancies.
Ivan, a 28-year-old police officer on the Peninsula, came to the event in Fremont after hearing about it on Facebook. He said he was attracted to Fremont’s bigger department because there’s more opportunity to try out different specializations, like becoming a K-9 handler. “The future here is bright,” he said.
Gilfoy said although most people who approach him at recruiting events, especially younger people, don’t seem to care too much about pay, the city has been ensuring salaries are competitive.
Earlier this year, police officers and sergeants, as well as managers, all received a 5.5 percent raise and an increase in health benefits. A police officer trainee starts with a base pay of $87,500 and makes $96,250 once fully trained.
There also are pay bumps or incentives for specializations, multiple language fluency and educational attainment.
Still, the department remains picky. Capt. Kimberly Petersen said on average, the department hires one of every 140 applicants.
“We do very in-depth backgrounds in terms of getting to know people, getting to know their moral character, getting to know their work ethic,” she said.
Gilfoy said he recruits at colleges, military bases, street fairs and other events around the Bay Area. He’s started a new group through the department’s Nixle channel, where interested people can get text updates about hiring and recruiting at the department.
Gilfoy said he’s also planning to take the recruiting effort to places like Bakersfield and Fresno soon.
“If you get one person, just one, and you’re able to get them through the whole process starting from this, then it was worth it,” he said.