Lake Co. sheriff looking for a few good women, minorities

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said Wednesday he is looking for more females and minorities to consider careers in his office.

Curran said he has a few reasons for wanting to diversify the ranks, not the least of which is he wants to promote more women and minorities.

"It is important that our office reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of Lake County," he said. "And I would like to see more women and minorities move into command ranks."

According to the most recent population estimates from 2007, 18 percent of Lake County's 725,913 residents are Hispanic and 7.5 percent are black. Women make up 49.7 percent of the county's population.

Curran, who made the comments during an informal meeting with reporters, said the corrections division of the office is well diversified, with jail Superintendent Jennifer Whitherspoon, a black female, and other minorities in command positions.

However, he said the operations division, where highway patrol deputies and detectives work, lacks female and minority representation in the upper ranks.

None of this means he intends to promote women and minorities simply to meet a self-imposed quota, Curran said.

"You have to have the right person to promote. To do otherwise disrespects the badge and it disrespects the person," Curran said. "It is important for us to attract quality individuals for entry-level positions, then give them what they need to grow within the office."

When he became sheriff two years ago, Curran said there were 116 employees in the operations division, including three blacks and three Hispanics.

Since then, 10 new deputies have been hired, and that group includes four females and four blacks.

He called the need for women candidates especially critical. Even in these tough economic times, of 187 people who signed up to test for a deputy job, only 10 were women.

"Women need to feel that a career in the Lake County sheriff's office is something they want to have," Curran said. "And to bring more women into the office, I want to be able to show that there are female command officers to assist them in their careers."

He said he has reached out to church and community leaders in an effort to attract diversified candidates, and has formed a group of female officers to go into the community to recruit.

"Our message is that we will give qualified women opportunities," Curran said. "We will hold them to the same high standard required of other officers, but they will be able to advance."