LAPD Going To Gay Games To Find Cops

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - The Los Angeles Police Department is looking for a few good men and women -- and they're coming to Chicago to find them.
The department will be in the city in July during the Gay Games to recruit officers, even offering a written test over a four-day period, officials there said.
The LAPD also is co-sponsoring the games -- the first in the more than 20-year history of the games that will draw about 12,000 athletes competing in 30 events -- and will be marching in uniform during opening ceremonies along with members of Los Angeles' team, which will include officers.
"It demonstrates the commitment of the L.A. Police Department to diversity," said Kevin Boyer, co-vice chairman of the Gay Games Chicago Board of Directors. "We're very happy they are using the Gay Games to do that. It sends a strong message to other departments and the world."
The aggressive marketing move is also because Los Angeles -- which has a force of 9,200 -- needs to fill 400 newly created slots.
"Our overall crime rate is down, but we have areas of the city that it is not down enough," said Bruce Whidden, a spokesman for the LAPD's personnel department. "In order to take care of some hot spots, we need to grow the department."
No lack of applicants here
Whidden said officials hope the warm sun and a starting salary of $52,000 to $55,000 will be a draw for recruits.
The Chicago Police Department is in the middle of its own recruiting drive, recently announcing the application date will be extended to Jan. 9. Supt. Phil Cline also recently announced the test will be offered four times a year, instead of once, to give more people an opportunity to apply.
But police officials here said they don't mind that L.A. is trolling in Chicago for candidates. So far, 2,000 to 3,000 people have signed up to take the current test, according to department spokeswoman Monique Bond. She said 550 or so positions open each year because of attrition, and finding enough applicants is not a concern.
There have not been a significant number of new positions created in Chicago's 13,500-member force since President Bill Clinton authorized federal money for more police officers across the country in the 1990s, said City Council Police Committee Chairman Isaac Carothers (29th). Carothers said several other alderman expressed concern that some pockets of the city were not being covered adequately.
But a more pressing issue in Chicago, Carothers and department officials said, is the lack of minorities who are signing up for the test. The percentage of minorities signing up has fallen from a high of 50 percent in the early 1990s to just about 33 percent today, Carothers said.
Cline has reached out to African-American churches in the past, and just last week he met again with pastors and other religious leaders to ask for help recruiting.
Meanwhile, Chicago officials said they had no immediate plans to do a special recruitment during the Gay Games, and organizers said they don't think it is necessary, either.
"We are so thrilled with the response from the Chicago Police Department," Boyer said. "They have been a partner with us all along the way."
from Chicago Sun-Times

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