More African-Americans apply to become cops, but few make it to finish line

Candidates are “self-selecting” out

(Jan 26, 2018) Salvador Cicero at his apartment in the neighborhood of Bridgeport. Cicero is the chairman of Chicago’s human resources board.

It’s hard to pinpoint any single reason that blacks are dropping out of the process, but some critics say it is too slow and weighted to candidates who have family members who were on the force or the backing of legacy officer associations. Two associations, Latin American Police Association and the Puerto Rican Police Association, work closely with Latino candidates, who have a dropout rate 7 percentage points lower than blacks.

Black applicants need more of a support system throughout the application process, according to Tracey Ladner, former director of the Chicago Police Department’s human resources division. “You have to have that support group off the job as well as a support group you have from being on the job.”

The 2013 recruitment year, the only class for which the department has complete records, provides insights into how blacks fared compared to other groups. That year, 4,325 African-Americans applied; of that number, 1,050 did not show up for the exam and 813 failed it.

Ladner said black recruits are “self-selecting out” for a variety of reasons. The process can take years and many candidates simply move on to other opportunities, she said. With historically fewer African-American officers, there are not as many legacy families to usher in young recruits.

“It’s been more whites on the job than other minorities,” said Ladner, now the communications officer for Chicago branch of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. “There are more people in their families who’ve been police officers, so they have a better idea of what that life is like.”

Ladner said that the city has to do a better job of recruiting individuals, but also their entire family. “You have to assure their mother that you know the chances of them getting shot are relatively low,” she said.

Other critics of the department’s hiring process claim that it is discriminatory.

Charles Wilson, chairman of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, said prescreening exams have been used to discriminate against black recruits.

“They bang us out on the agility exam,” he said. “We do not typically go into the exam being ‘fit and ready.’ We go out into the yard and shoot hoops, but we don’t get into the idea of doing a daily run. Our counterparts are heavily into that. So, they are more prepared for the agility examination.”

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