On reading the article on why potential recruits are turning their backs on a career in the police force (August 23) it does not take much to come up with a number of key steps to improve police recruitment and, more importantly, retention.
We have long known that the corps has been struggling to recruit and hire police officers. The difficulty with recruitment is a significant problem that is broadly affecting the field of law enforcement – it is not simply a result of poor management or localised failures. Indeed, law enforcement is not the only occupation facing severe shortages of qualified job seekers. There is a worker shortage – not a shortage of work. Other occupations such as nursing, teaching, construction and the catering sector are all experiencing a skilled labour shortage.
As vacancy numbers increase due to the inability to fill positions and as more officers continue to become eligible for retirement, existing officers are becoming overworked and burned out. At a time when the importance of officer mental wellness is more widely recognised, powerful efforts to recruit, hire and retain officers become increasingly important.
The corps needs to thoughtfully amend recruitment practices without lowering the standards for officers that their peers and communities have come to expect. The law enforcement applicant pool is small and competitive, so it is no surprise police leaders list recruitment and retention as the top challenge they face today.
Every time the police recruitment pool dwindles into a puddle there is a tendency to lower standards to try to increase the size of the pool but there is a price to pay for that downstream. To compensate for this, the corps should consider making everyone a recruiter. While officers are on duty, as part of their job, they need to recruit. They meet great people every day. If an elderly woman has her house burglarised and her 20-year-old grandson is helping her on the scene, he is a potential recruit. If officers could find one good woman or man in their career, it would help the force keep up with attrition.
Once you attract the right people, you need strategies in place to keep them- Mark Said
It is no secret that the corps does not necessarily assign its brightest and best officers to serve as recruitment officers. You need someone with both good communication and customer service skills who can walk candidates through what is often an overwhelmingly rigorous selection process. Why not consider giving potential recruits a preliminary job offer to keep them around while the background investigation is concluded?
Regular contact with people is essential. Recruiters could keep in contact every day with candidates via apps on smartphones. They could talk to people on a regular basis to tell them the status of their background check and tell them what is going on.
Recruitment should be done where good candidates hang out. While you may find potential candidates at job fairs, the next generation of police officers can be found in many different places. Secondary schools, colleges and volunteer organisations are filled with great candidates. In addition, a candidate’s life experience should be considered.
Recruitment is closely tied to retention. Once you attract the right people, you need strategies in place to keep them. This means asking candidates: “Do you really know what you are getting into?” People need to understand that law enforcement is much different than what they see on TV or in the movies. What is being done to build employee trust and pride in the corps? What options do personnel have in the corps to advance or do something different?
If recruits think they are always going to be on patrol or working in a single department, they may choose to move on. Developing levels within positions where you can keep people, increase their pay and keep their skills and abilities up to date should be considered. One must experiment with innovative leave policies too.
Offering unlimited sick leave not only supports officers when unavoidable illness befalls them or their family members but also sets a standard for a culture that officer wellness comes first. If unlimited sick leave is not an option, having an official or unofficial policy of being understanding and accommodating in granting officer leave requests can be attractive to potential recruits.
It is important to have a list of ideal applicant attributes and then make sure recruiting and testing selection procedures are compatible with those attributes for ideal applicants. It is imperative to revamp the recruitment process, especially the interview panel, to test for empathy, honesty, integrity, resilience and decision-making, character traits I believe are the best for the community the police corps serves.