Law Enforcement Workforce Challenges

The article also discusses the challenges of attracting and recruiting police officers. Many police departments pay higher than the state police department, which tends to draw the police officers’ attention. Currently state police departments have to decide how to attract police

The field of police work is constantly being forced to develop and improve its protocols, procedures, and practices in an effort to keep pace with the ever-changing society in which it operates and criminal behavior it seeks to eradicate. While the history of policing has been marked by substantial changes throughout time, the work of modern-day police officers and officials demonstrate some of the most substantial adaptations to its surrounding environment that the field has ever seen. In order to understand where the future of policing is heading, it is important to first understand these current trends that are affecting the current landscape of the profession. By

It is easy to take a look across the occupational spectrum and see that Law Enforcement is a very emotional and dangerous job. Law enforcement officials come in contact with homicides, street violence, and other tragedies while “protecting and serving”. They

The objective of this thesis is to provide comprehensive information to all stakeholders who have an interest in enhancing minority recruitment and selection. The goal of this thesis is to address law enforcement professionals about the importance of diversifying police agencies; more importantly, is to address the underrepresentation of Asian-American police officers and the challenges of recruiting potential candidates from Asian communities. Through community policing, mediation, trust building, collaboration with stakeholders, and cultural diversity training, law enforcement agencies will achieve its recruiting and diversity goals. Targeting Asian cultural events, partnering up with higher learning institutions, and sending mass emails regarding job opportunities to criminal justice majors could produce students’ interests and desires to pursue a career in law enforcement (Castaneda & Ridgeway, 2010). Recruitment issues and needs will be examined; moreover, the importance of evaluating implemented strategies must be followed up in order to monitor community changes or problems that may arise (Tangel, 2015).

In recent years, recruitment and retention of police officers has been a pain point for many departments across the nation. Odd and inflexible hours, uncompetitive pay, para-militaristic organizational structures, and a negative public perception have all worked to diminish the pool of applicants interested in careers in law enforcement. Add to the mix the sexist “brotherhood” police culture, emphasis on masculinity and aggression, and the nearly non-existent opportunities for advancement for women, and over half of the eligible workforce has been discouraged from even considering a career in law enforcement. In 2013, women comprised just over 57% of the labor force, but accounted for only 13% of sworn police officers (USDOL, 2013; Crooke, 2013). Not only are women sorely underrepresented in the field of law enforcement, but those who are employed experience discrimination at the hands of their supervisors and coworkers, and as a result, the attrition rate for women is often much higher than that of their male counterparts. Departments should pledge dedication to recruiting and retaining more female officers, as research indicates that not only do females perform just as well as males in patrol positions, but they also have a unique set of advantages to offer agencies when employed in law enforcement. In order to improve the recruitment and retention of females into policing roles, departments must determine the biggest deterrents for women who are considering the pursuit

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida is the tenth largest suburban agency in the country. The sheriff’s Office annual budget estimated to be 370 million. The current chief law enforcement in charge is Sheriff David Gee, who elected into office in 2004. After he had been elected to his position, subsequently, in “2007, he was awarded “Sheriff of the Year” by the National Crisis Intervention Team. In 2015, he was awarded the Liberty Bell Award by the Hillsborough County Bar Association” (“HCSO Gee,” 2004). Prior elected as Sheriff, Mr. Gee has served the Sheriff’s Office and the public for over thirty-seven years. He is responsible for managing one the largest agency in the nation. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office requirements

When an individual chooses a career in law enforcement they realize it can be a very rewarding, yet dangerous career path to take. Most people often hear about all the potential dangers such as officer involved shootings and physical confrontations before making the choice to join the ranks of the few who will always stand for what is right. However, today there is a new danger to law enforcement known as the mass media which adds a whole new realm of difficulty to an already taxing job. The negative effects of the media can be felt nationwide by law enforcement agencies and these effects include creating a divided community, unrealistic expectations, and the devastation of current and future law enforcement careers. This presentation

The International Association of Chiefs of Police Research Center Board of executives, Smaller Law Enforcement Agencies Technical Assistance Program developed a New Police Chief Mentoring Project (IACP, 2013). Supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, the focus is to make available official support to newer law enforcement leaders in the first three years of appointment, who are serving in smaller populations less than 50,000 citizens. As cities expand geographically and demographically, police departments face additional challenges determining efficient and effective ways to make use of officers and resources (Roberts, 2000).

One would think that in today’s day time that women should be treated the say way as her male counterpart when it comes to applying for a position as an officer or any other position within law enforcement organization, but they are not. Even though it has been over 100 years, women in the work place and equality can be a very long battle and can be depressing or degrading when a woman is doing the same job but is being paid and respected a lot less. Thereby, we will examine the hiring practices and their evolution over the last 100 years, and the issue of

The profession of policing derives its effectiveness from its ability to attract and employ quality individuals who will strive to better their community. Therefore proper recruitment and selection of officers is incredibly important to a police organization. Some major needs to Missouri’s recruitment process will be addressed in the following paragraphs.

The first step in consideration of law enforcement selection, is recruitment and Conser (1978) explained mandated minimum state standards for selection dates back to the early 1950 's; albeit the actual reinforcement of established selection standards emphasized to the states until 1975, when The Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations found police selection standards lacking (Conser, 1978). This lead to enacting legislation, employing the development of state commission councils of policing standards composed of local officials’ and law enforcement agencies, whose main responsibilities were to: oversee, implement and enforce the screening and evaluation of potential candidates; ensuring properly provided services and protection of local communities (Conser, 1978). The commissions set minimum standards of: 21 years of age or higher, good physical health, set minimum and maximum height and weight requirements to ensure the abilities of candidates would meet the physical demands of law enforcement work (Conser, 1978). Equally important officials’ sought out characteristics of candidates’ skills that consisted of: high emotional and stress level, endurance, confidence, public trust, and knowledgeable, psychologically sound individuals (Cosner, 1978). Moreover, officials’ conducted personality profiles, checked citizenship, verified addresses, and ran background checks (Conser, 1978). In addition, Cosner (1978) state the process also also involved: oral interviews,

There has been many controversies and attention towards the recruiting and hiring crisis in American law enforcement. Among the various problems that law enforcement agencies in America face, however, do not solely pertain to issues such as budgeting or manpower; but rather, it is the problem of recruiting qualified Asian-American applicants (Gaines & Kappeler, 2014). Policing in the United States has changed since the early days of American law enforcement. Although there have been opportunities for Asian-Americans to pursue a career in law enforcement over the last forty years, an existence of discrimination in the workplace regarding allocation of assignments, promotions, and recruitment still occurs (Matthies et al., 2012). That being said, law enforcement agencies in the United States must be culturally and racially diverse, to reflect the population of Asian-Americans in which they promised to protect and serve. It is important to have more Asian-American officers on a police force to improve relationships between law enforcement and Asian-American residents (Alcindor & Penzenstandler, 2015). Having more Asian-American officers on the police force could also help with cultural differences when responding to a call for service involving Asian immigrants (United States Commission on Civil Rights, 2010). Asian-American officers can help solve crimes that might astound colleagues unfamiliar with various Asian dialects (Cao, 2011).

“So goes the economy, so goes the government applications” (Anjewierden, D. 2016). When the economy is good, people go out and make money inside the private sector. On the alternate scenario when the economy is not as good, people look for government jobs in search for security through the economic storm. In recent years, recruitment has been difficult at least in Utah’s law enforcement sector in finding not only law enforcement officers, but administrative staff as well. Someone with correct qualifications may jump on a law enforcement administrative job, but a few years later realize they could double their money by exiting to the private sector. Not everyone who’s hired will stay with the organization forever, which can lead to recruitment and management conflicts. This is just one of many problems facing recruitment inside law enforcement and government

In 2008, 4 out of 5 agencies targeted women and minorities for recruits yet sheriffs’ offices were the least likely to target women as recruits (BJS, 2008). Full time sworn female officers grew from 58,000 in 2013 compared to 27,000 in 1987 which resulted in 5-12% increase. Among this study concluded one in ten supervisors in departments were female (Dept. of Justice, 2015). Evidently, progress has been made for gender disparity in the police force through studies and statistics. The growth may seem minute and insignificant to most, but progress exemplifies growth from the

Making a change to the recruitment materials would be a good way to move towards diversifying law enforcement. A better description of the position, benefits, and also a realistic expectation for career advancement in law enforcement. Making these changes to the materials there should also be specific recruitment materials to target women and minorities and some more attractive for all cultures. Posting ads to target women and updating the websites frequently would bring attention. Some applications are extremely time consuming and a burden, making the application easier and user friendly would prompt