Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network

Massachusetts Police News, Information and Discussions on MassCops

Posted by: kwflatbed

Police recruiting wars give rise to product placement
By JAMES HANNAH
Associated Press Writer

DAYTON, Ohio- Recruiters for New York City's police department now hand out coffee mugs on college campuses. In Los Angeles County, they offer baseball jerseys with the words "Join Our Team."




Some recruiters say they even plan to hit the road to entice volunteers.

Police around the country are aggressively recruiting job candidates, squeezed by the retirement of baby boomers and competition from higher-paying private jobs and federal law enforcement.

"We're not able to find as many qualified applicants as we've had in the past," lamented Montgomery County Sheriff David Vore, who is advertising statewide for 12 deputies and eight corrections officers. "I can't explain it. It just doesn't appear people want to come into law enforcement like they did."

Police recruiters in Oakland, Calif., plan to buy a mobile home within six months so they can travel to out-of-state military bases and colleges to administer tests.

"We're going to drive, fly and do whatever it takes," said Sgt. Jon Madarang, recruiting supervisor for Oakland, which needs to hire 62 officers.

Even going to the movies offers no escape. Recruiting ads designed to look like movie previews are showing in theaters.

"Everybody's getting into branding their police department to separate it from their competitors," said Jason Abend, executive director of the National Law Enforcement Recruiters Association.

Police agencies traditionally have advertised themselves in newspapers and on radio or let recruits come to them after hearing about openings by word of mouth.

Some police departments are flush with qualified candidates. Abend said that while there may be a shortage of applicants in some areas, the overall pool nationally is not shrinking. However, he said there is increased competition for that pool.

Federal law enforcement and military agencies have been in a hiring frenzy since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, attracting recruits to the border patrol, immigration and customs, Abend said.

"The FBI is vacuuming up people," he added.

Many veteran police officers are taking private-sector jobs or snapping up better-paying jobs at other police departments, touching off recruiting wars.

"I laugh every time I see Roy McGill, the police chief of Germantown," said Chris Krug, police chief in nearby Miami Township near Dayton. "I say, 'You're not going to hit me are you? Because I've stolen about four people from your department.'"

Despite the change in recruiting methods, the message remains pretty much the same: police work offers job security and a way to serve the community.

Vore has spent $8,000 for newspaper ads in Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. The campaign, which began five months ago, has attracted 20 officers from Cleveland-area police agencies _ more than 150 miles away _ who are interested in jobs.

The Los Angeles police department hired a public relations firm that produced three movie trailers, fictionalized accounts of a day in the life of two patrol officers. The officers are seen capturing a robbery suspect, arriving on the scene where a gunman takes a woman hostage, and helping find a young kidnap victim.

"We wanted people to look at it and probably think it's a new movie coming out," said recruiter Gavin Stieglitz. "We figured a lot of people are going to the movies and this was a way to reach out to a big, wide audience."

The trailers are being shown at theaters in five southern California counties.

Other large police departments have taken more conventional approaches to boost recruiting.

New York City has dropped the $35 fee to take the written examination and allows recruits to apply online. Next year, Chicago will offer its exam four times annually instead of once a year.

The police department in Clearwater, Fla., has begun offering a paid day off for any officer who recommends a recruit who is hired and makes it through one year's probation.

It also plans to drop a requirement that all recruits have college degrees, allowing them to substitute at least three years of active-duty military service or at least two years' experience with a certified police agency.

"We're not lowering our standards. It just makes a bigger pool," said Sgt. Terry Teunis. "The pool just isn't as sufficient as it used to be."

___

On the Net:

National Law Enforcement Recruiters Association: http://www.nlera.org/


Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

---

Posted by: no$.10

"The Los Angeles police department hired a public relations firm that produced three movie trailers, fictionalized accounts of a day in the life of two patrol officers. The officers are seen capturing a robbery suspect, arriving on the scene where a gunman takes a woman hostage, and helping find a young kidnap victim."

The sequel will have them doing paperwork for the next five shifts, three weeks at IA, suspended for six months, and finally, scrambling for representation in the civil case. Who could refuse?

---

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by no$.10 The sequel will have them doing paperwork for the next five shifts, three weeks at IA, suspended for six months, and finally, scrambling for representation in the civil case. Who could refuse?

Don't forget the newspaper editorials that relentlessly criticize their actions, while offering no practical solutions themselves.

---

Posted by: RPD931

Too bad we don't have these kind of recruiting wars for Mass. As usual, if you want a good LE job, go OUT of State.

---

vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.
vB Easy Archive Final ©2000 - 2008 - Created by Stefan "Xenon" Kaeser