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 **Ten Recruiting Tips for
          Finding Good Officers** September 2019 | Volume 12 | Issue 8
  What attracted previous generations to law enforcement  careers doesn’t always appeal to Millennials or Generation Z, who have not only  different job expectations but also a variety of other work options in a growing  job market. However, there are some new methods as well as tried-and-true  practices that have paid off for agencies in the past. The following are ideas for attracting diverse, qualified,  community-oriented people to the law enforcement profession. Though these  practices can help get them in the door, determining your agency’s unique needs  and evaluating the quality of applicants is up to you. 1. Ask Staff, Friends, and Family to Spread the Word Many officers were inspired to join the force by friends  and family. Others were encouraged by school resource officers (SRO), Police  Athletic Leagues, and other outreach activities. Get everybody in the community  and the force—including dispatchers and other nonsworn staff members—on board  with recruiting. Some agencies use incentive programs, usually in the form of  additional leave or comp time, to encourage these efforts. 2. Collaborate With the Community and Other Agencies Develop working relationships with community leaders,  school teachers and administrators, minority organizations, local government  officials, and other groups to help identify good candidates. Two or more regional agencies may be able to collaborate  to hold joint recruitment fairs, develop messaging, or partner in other  efforts. By sharing the costs, they could create high quality videos, flyers,  web content, or other marketing tools that could be adapted to each agency with  minor changes. 3. Go Online Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and an engaging website  are essential recruiting tools, but there are other sites and applications that  can serve you well too. Among them are PoliceApp,  a program that not only simplifies the processes for applicants and police  departments but also posts positions on social media and job boards. Others are Discover Policing, an IACP-sponsored  site that introduces viewers to the profession, PoliceOne.com‘s career  site, and the PublicSafetyApp. 4. Streamline the Process Making the application process faster and easier is the  most effective way of ensuring that applicants fill out and submit the forms.  Streamlining and automating the entire application and acceptance process can  pay big dividends. Planning recruitment days for weekends, when applicants can  do everything on site at the same time, makes applying easier too. 5. Provide Helplines and Mentors A welcoming and supportive approach will encourage applicants  to work through the process. Consider setting up a helpline or a mentor program  that makes staff available to answer questions and guide candidates through the  application process. Online live chats can be helpful too. Ride-alongs, open  houses, and other opportunities for applicants to interact with command staff  and rank-and-file officers can build positive relationships that encourage them  to apply. 6. Break Down Unnecessary Barriers Examine barriers to recruitment such as residency and  education requirements, background checks, physical standards, or training and  academy requirements that might exclude potential recruits. Remove unnecessary  or outdated ones, or consider ways to help otherwise solid candidates overcome  them. 7. Consider Different Degrees Though criminal justice programs at local colleges are a  sure way to find recruits, don’t overlook other majors such as law, political  science, psychology, or sociology. And in addition to making presentations at  job fairs, work with local schools’ career placement offices. Collaborate to create  summer internship programs for credit too. 8. Grow Your Own Candidates Police Athletic League camps, internships, police  explorers, and similar programs are a good way to find young people interested  in law enforcement careers and prequalify them too. SROs may be able to  identify high school students who are likely candidates. And it may be possible  to hire young men or women in nonsworn support positions where they can learn,  earn tuition money, and join the force when they reach the required age. 9. Don’t Overlook Anybody Also consider reaching out to older people, military  veterans, and lateral transfers from other departments. Look at transitional  workers too, especially those who have left careers in fields such as teaching,  aviation, or medicine but still want to serve. If a local employer is laying  off workers, you may also find good candidates among their employees. 10. Create an Engaging Video You can probably find someone in your department or community  with a cell phone or professional video camera and editing software, or engage  a local production company. For inspiration, see the Rialto (California) Police  Department’s video and Fort  Worth (Texas) Police Department’s Chewbacca Ride Along.
 Faye Elkins
        Sr. Technical Writer Tweet
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 The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office.   The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office.
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