http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.recruit2may09,0,6522832.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines
By Joy L. Woodson
Staff Writer
May 9, 2005
DARIEN -- When uniformed police officers from Darien attended a Stamford NAACP meeting, they came bearing an unshakable problem.
Few minorities apply at the Darien Police Department.
They've gone as far as Fort Dix, N.J., attended career fairs in Bridgeport and visited New York and Connecticut college campuses. They've handed out posters, put links on Web sites and bought advertisements in Spanish newspapers.
The NAACP suggested they take their plea to churches.
But the interest from minorities remains next to nil, and the department's officers are virtually all white, said Sgt. Kane Winn, the training and recruitment officer. Winn is the only black officer on the force. His father, Jim Winn, was the first black cop in 1970.
"We acknowledge that we got to do something," he said.
Applications are due May 22. Short of making a statement on the application asking for minorities, as some departments do, Kane Winn said Darien has done a lot. They've discussed extra points for minorities, he said.
"I don't want it to be just window dressing," Chief Duane Lovello said of minority recruitment. "I want it to be effective."
The department has one Hispanic and six women, all white.
The department, which has 51 officers at full strength, will have two openings. The department is a reflection of its community, Lovello said.
According to data from the 2000 Census, Darien is 96 percent white, 2 percent Asian, 2 percent Hispanic and 0.5 percent black.
During the last hiring two years ago, nearly 80 people took the written test. Seven were black and none passed. Two Hispanics and two women advanced past the first test but faltered in later ones.
"When you're looking for minorities and you get some to take the test and they don't pass, it's a little discouraging," Winn said.
Like other law enforcement agencies, the application in Darien includes a written test, an agility test, an oral examination, a polygraph, psychological tests, a drug screening, a stress test, a medical examination, a background check and training. It takes about a year to complete everything. The starting salary is $46,740.
Applicants must have completed 60 hours of course work at an accredited college or university, have two years of active military duty or prior police work and 30 hours of college credits.
Darien is dealing with a staffing shortage and recently requested $30,000 for overtime patrol wages. One officer remains injured, another is on military leave and a detective plans to retire soon.
The department isn't alone in its need for more officers. New Canaan Police Department, which also is accepting applications, has trouble recruiting minorities. Applications are due May 15. The starting salary is $45,390.
Of the town's 45 officers, four are black and one is Hispanic. No officers are fluent in Spanish, so the department relies on a few who have conversational skills, nearby departments and a translation service.
New Canaan Police Sgt. Vincent DeMaio, who is in charge of recruiting, said 60 percent of applications come through the department's Web site but most are from white men. Of the 78 applicants during last hiring period, 51 were white, 10 were black, five were Hispanic, two were native American or Pacific Islander and 11 were women, he said. Sixteen people didn't list a sex or race. Three white men and one black man eventually were hired.
Although New Canaan and Darien are low-crime areas not known as places to build high-profile careers in law enforcement, police leaders say the towns are close to bigger cities, Metro-North Railroad and Interstate 95, which makes for a mix of opportunities.
"Any job is what you make of it," Lovello said. "It's not as busy as Stamford or Norwalk, but there's plenty to do."
Still, a deep-seated notion of racial profiling exists, creating another hurdle in the effort to draw minority recruits, he said.
"Whether it's deserved or not deserved, the police department has had a reputation of stopping minorities," Winn said. "It's old feelings that have passed down from generation to generation."
When Detective Mario Paredes, the department's only Hispanic and Spanish-speaking cop, thought about working in Darien, he heard murmurs of disapproval.
"I can remember, as a youngster in Stamford, people telling me, 'Don't go to Darien. They're racist there and things will happen to you,' " Paredes said. "Then I come here and see they're regular people just doing a job."
He said he has not experienced racism since he joined the department in 1985. He's retiring soon, leaving the department without a Spanish speaker.
When he talks to young people about being police officers, they often don't believe that minorities will be hired. The department should reach out more to high schools, before college-bound minorities have decided on a career, he said.
"When you're looking (at) applications, you hire from the pool you have -- not the pool you desire," Paredes said.
-- Applications are available at www.darienpolice.org or www.newcanaanpolice.org.
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