OPD Efforts to Recruit African Americans Yield Meager Results

Posted in Equal Rights/Equity, Oakland Job Programs, Police-Public Safety

By Ashley Chambers and Dakotah Jennifer

Recent efforts by the Oakland Police Department to increase the numbers of African American officers have resulted in meager increases in the hiring and retention of Black officers, according to a report submitted this week the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

Blacks make up 28 percent of the city’s population but only 18.3 percent of the city’s sworn officers, 34 percent below their numbers in the population.

The report highlights more aggressive outreach and recruitment by OPD. However, data shows that at least 80 percent of African American applicants did not advance to police academies conducted by OPD since 2012.

Of the 354 new officers hired through these academies from 2012 to 2014, 14 percent were African American; 19 percent were Asian; 35 percent white; nearly 28 percent were Hispanic; and 3 percent were other races or undisclosed, according to the report.

Enhanced recruitment efforts include partnering with local faith-based and nonprofit organizations, participating in career fairs, and connecting with career centers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

While failing to recruit African Americans, the efforts to hire more bilingual applicants appear to have been effective, the report said.

“We’re getting numbers of people to apply, but they can’t get though the process,” said Councilmember Desley Brooks, who chairs the city’s Public Safety Committee. “They get weeded out in three places, the written exam, oral exam and background check.”

She says she hopes that a careful look OPD recruiting can result in overcoming some of the barriers.

The report notes that OPD has organized monthly workshops to aid African American applicants in preparing for the written exam. But the number of African Americans attending police academies has not shown significant change since 2012.

Hiring data for the most recent academy, which graduated in Fall 2014, show that 411 African Americans applied, 20 percent of the total number of applicants. Of that number, 60 proceeded to the final stages of the application process, only three percent of the total number of 348 applicants.

After background investigations and character reviews, seven Blacks were recruited to attend the academy, among a total of 82 applicants who were hired.

Because field training of these new officers is still in progress, these numbers are still subject to change.