In St. Louis County, the police department encounters a number of obstacles when looking to recruit more minority candidates. A new ballot measure and the efforts of Police Officer Ricardo Franklin may change that.
In the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown Jr. by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, a common criticism levied at Ferguson’s police department was that, in a majority-black community, officers were 95 percent white.
The St. Louis County Police Department told The American that of its approximately 850 police officers, 133 are black, 17 are Hispanic, 11 are mixed-race, eight are Asian and two are Indian, while 679 are white. That makes the department 16 percent black, compared to the county being 24.4 percent black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The St. Louis County Police Department is making a variety of efforts to increase its pool of applicants. One is the recent passage of Proposition P, which will increase the starting salary of police officers, which is currently $48,265, in January of 2018. The amount of the increase is still being decided through negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police.
In the past, the department has required 64 hours of college credit or two years of active duty military service for new applicants, but it’s now offering a new option.
“As we push to hire more minorities, of course, we’ve incorporated programs to assist those that don’t meet those requirements,” said Franklin, a newly appointed recruiter, who is African-American.
“And part of that program is, if they accept a professional staff position with our department, such as security services or a dispatcher, they can spend one year with that unit and they will then qualify for a police officer’s position. So you can work your way up.”
Franklin visits local colleges and military bases to seek out applicants. Another option, the Police Cadet Program, is available to some high school students. The program, for 18- to 21-year-olds, provides paid training for those interested in a future law enforcement career.
“The cadet program gives the younger generation a visual on what we do within the department,” Franklin said. “It is a paid position – it’s part time, but it’s a paid position. They get to visit every division within the department and get to see what we do on this side.”
Franklin said one obstacle in recruiting minority officers is the “outside noise” potential recruits encounter when they discuss wanting to apply for the job.
“You might have an applicant that’s interested, but he’s afraid to apply or she’s afraid to apply, because of the influence that others are putting into that applicant,” Franklin said. “The whys –‘why would you want to be a police officer?’ And that’s my job to clear that up.”
Once people meet the leadership of the St. Louis County Police Department, Franklin said, they won’t see a stereotypical, white-run police department. Lieutenant Colonel Troy Doyle, who leads special operations, and Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Gregory, who leads the division of criminal investigation, are both black, as is the chairman of the police board, Roland Corvington, a former FBI special agent in charge of the St. Louis field office.
Franklin reports to a white sergeant in the Personnel Unit, Sergeant Craig Higgenbotham, but Higgenbotham reports to a black lieutenant, Lt. James McWilliams, who reports to a black commander of the Bureau of Staff Services, Captain Norman Mann.
“If you walk down the hall and take a look at our department photo, or look at the command staff photo, you’ll see a wide array of talent there,” Mann said. “And that’s something that is easily recognizable.”
Mann said national news coverage of police shootings shows some people are unhappy with police departments, but he has not seen it influence an individual’s decision not to become an officer.
“I personally have not talked to someone who has said, ‘I don’t want to be a police officer in light of what’s going on in the world,’” Mann said. “But I’m sure that makes some angst with individuals. But once those individuals talk to our recruitment officers – to Officer Franklin, or myself, or anybody in the department – those myths can be dispelled immediately. It is a very fulfilling job.”
