How suburban police departments are courting minority recruits

Ever since Pradeep Singh Deol was old enough to dress up for Halloween, his costume of choice was a police uniform.

A Buffalo Grove High School alumnus, Deol now is one of just three Sikh law enforcement professionals in the suburbs. Unwittingly, his lifelong passion has made him the poster child for departments seeking to diversify their ranks.

A few suburban police departments are recruiting in earnest within the Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, and other minority communities to better mirror and serve the growing racial and ethnic diversity of the suburbs. Others are using a common recruitment tactic — hitting up high school and college campuses.

That was the kind of connection that lured Deol, 28, who now is a Prospect Heights police officer. He said his first impressions of law enforcement were drawn from engaging with his school's resource officer and from participation in Drug Abuse Resistance Education and another youth program offered by Wheeling Police Department.

He has a ready answer for why individual departments value such efforts.

“It's important (to have officers who are) able to look at things in a different light, nuances when you respond to calls,” he said. “You are able to have a better understanding of a situation based on the cultural dynamics.”

Deol wanted nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, who was a police officer in India. Now, Deol is an inspiration for youth from the suburban Sikh community who want to become cops. A Palatine resident, he often helps with recruiting efforts at the Palatine gurdwara where he worships.

Cultivating trust

Part of the challenge with recruiting in communities of color and immigrants is a distrust of law enforcement, said Lake in the Hills police Sgt. Matthew Mannino.

“What we are doing is basically bridging that gap between us and (these) communities,” he said. “It's not just about recruiting officers for our department. It's about building that trust with the community.”

The department's 39 sworn officers mostly are white men, with seven women in the ranks. Five percent are minorities, but none speak Spanish. Yet the town's population has seen an increase in Hispanics and Asians.

“We are seeing that need for bilingual or multilingual employees,” Mannino said. “One of our recruitment efforts is to attract those applicants.”

Having a mosque and Hindu temple in town offers access to youth in these communities who could join the department's Explorer Program, which has attracted few diverse candidates over the past 20 years. The program offers young people who are from 15 to 20 years old firsthand experience with what it is like to be a police officer. They participate in ride-alongs, training, simulations, crime scene investigations and traffic stops.

On Saturday, Mannino and a few officers met with members of the American Community Muslim Organization in Lake in the Hills build those relationships.

“And also to let them know that we are there as a resource, as well,” Mannino said. “There are members of their organization that are interested in becoming police officers. They are of the age that they can test and be hired. Our goal here really is to ensure that our agency represents the racial, ethnic and gender (makeup) of our community.”

Mannino said officials also are reaching out to student clubs at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, including members of the LGBT campus group.

A team sport

Zumba classes aren't just a prime destination for single men trolling for dates. The Elgin Police Department soon will be courting female recruits at local gyms and health clubs, said Lt. Eric Echevarria.

“That's going to be one of our big efforts this year, reaching out to our local gyms, being able to recruit right at their facilities,” he said.

The department's 184 sworn officers — 167 male and 17 female — are 78% white, 14% Hispanic, 5% black and 2% Asian.

Elgin police also are scouting college-level athletes who can handle the rigor of police academy training. Echevarria said the focus is on Division II and III schools.

“We've learned that athletic groups have the concept of working in teams, wearing uniforms,” Echevarria said. “They fit what we're looking for. The military is very good at recruiting (them). We are taking a page out of the military (playbook) ... talking to some of the big recruiters in the military and seeing how they are doing it.”

The department will be releasing a new recruitment video targeting the Latino population and pushing its message on Spanish-language television and radio stations. It also recently changed its hiring standards to allow Elgin Community College students who graduate with an associate degree in criminal justice to apply, when previously a bachelor's degree was required.

Breaking barriers

For some cultures that don't view law enforcement as a viable career choice, getting parents' support is key to breaking barriers.

“There always has been a little bit of a disconnect ... that we probably would not be welcome,” said Pardeep Singh Gill, president of the Sikh Religious Society of Palatine Gurdwara. “That is being dispelled now. Suburban Chicago Sikh community is now embracing careers in police and military.”

Gill credits the ongoing efforts of the Chicago, Prospect Heights and Lisle police departments for changing sentiments in his community.

As part of the Unity Partnership, the Lisle Police Department has been working to break barriers at gurdwaras in Palatine and Wheaton, the Islamic Center of Naperville and African Methodist Episcopal churches in Aurora and Lisle.

Unity Partnership, based in DuPage County, has been working in concert with police chiefs to address issues in policing communities of color.

Lisle has an all-white police force, and just seven out of 37 sworn officers are female.

Now, the department is developing a new internship program for youth targeting communities of color, said Deputy Chief Ron Wilke.

“I hope both sides see this as a trusting relationship because we certainly do,” Wilke said. “We have a legitimate desire to try and bridge this gap and bring a more diversified workforce.”