Interest in Elgin police surges following hiring process change
There are 208 applicants to become the newest Elgin police officers, the greatest number since the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd plummeted interest in the profession of law enforcement.
That uptick - though still below previous levels of interest - is an early measuring stick for a change in police hiring practices approved by the city council.
The city council removed the requirement of a college diploma to take the police entrance exam in November. Applicants now need a GED or high school diploma to try to get through the first step to becoming a police officer in the city.
Chief Ana Lalley recommended the change more than a year ago. The city council delayed acting on the recommendation until it received a review, and a stamp of approval, from a residents task force created to improve relations between the community and the department.
Going back several years, applicants had totaled 300 to 400 people per year. That number bottomed out at 115 candidates in the hiring period before the switch to a high school diploma. Of those 115 applicants, only 11 made it to the list of people the department deemed as good fits to become Elgin police officers.
The current application period closes on March 24. Lalley called the uptick in applicants "unheard of in the last couple years" on her weekly radio show Friday.
"I'm really excited for that," Lalley said. "This opens the doors for people who weren't able to go to college right away. Maybe they went into the military, or they entered the workforce because they had to. I'm a huge proponent of education, but I also realize there are great people in the world who just weren't able to do certain things."
The application is just stage one of the hiring process. Physical requirements, a written test, a background check and interviews with the city's police and fire commission are also part of the journey to becoming a police officer.
The switch to a high school diploma for application put Elgin on par with most of the competing police departments in the area. Lalley also pitched the change to the city and the task force as a move that could help broaden the demographics of the department and bring in police officers with backgrounds that better reflect those of the residents of the city.
"It's about the person," Lalley said. "My philosophy for hiring has always been a good head and a good heart. I don't care about your race, your gender, your sexual orientation. You should ask yourself, 'Why do I want to become a police officer?' It should be really simple: Help your community and make a great (police) department. If your answer is something you shouldn't be saying, then you probably shouldn't be a police officer."
Lalley and several of the city's police officers will host an open house for people interested in joining the department from 6 to 8 p.m. March 9 at the police department.
More information about becoming an Elgin police officer is available on the city's jobs website.