By Natasha Lee
Staff Writer
August 15, 2006
STAMFORD -- The city recently approved plans to boost the size of its police force 13 percent in the next five years, but it can expect to face an increasingly tight job market for recruits.
Mayor Dannel Malloy has given the police department the go-ahead to develop a plan to grow to 350 officers to keep up with the city's growing population.
The Stamford Police Department is authorized to hire 310 officers, although 288 are on the force now.
Officials are hopeful the pending addition of 20 new recruits will help ease the strain of forced overtime and other problems caused by recent staff shortages.
But as Stamford recruiters pound the pavement in search of the ideal candidate, they find themselves competing against departments nationwide for the same shrinking pool of candidates.
Exacerbating the problem is the increasing number of baby boomers heading toward retirement and a competitive military retaining potential candidates through active duty service.
The younger generation is opting for higher-paying jobs in corporate settings, and those pursuing careers in law enforcement are applying for positions with federal agencies, experts and recruiters said.
"The difficulty is people are moving away from law enforcement," Stamford officer and recruitment coordinator Marcia Stella said.
"If you have a college education, you're going into the FBI or you're seeking something higher than typical law enforcement," she said. "There has to be some incentive for someone to want to come to a particular area, a particular department."
Stamford has seen a dramatic drop in the number of qualified applicants in the past decade. It went from 1,135 qualified applicants in 1996 to 363 this year, said Maggi Murray, a personnel analyst for the city's Human Resources department. Of the 363 this year, 166 took the written exam in March, she said.
The city had 588 qualified applicants in 2004, but the general trend has been downward.
To increase and diversify its force, police are revamping recruitment efforts.
Of Stamford's 288 officers, 19 are black, 12 are Latino and 23 are women.
The department is upgrading its Web site to appeal to young people online. Its recruitment team of 10 officers has been targeting minority organizations and community fairs, pitching a competitive salary and incentives like its education payoff that offers a salary boost per each college degree, Stella said.
Entry-level patrol officers start at $47,000 in base salary.
The city has hired a test consultant to help with marketing strategies and review the police exam to ensure the department is hiring the best candidates, Police Chief Brent Larrabee said.
About 40 percent of applicants result from postings on law enforcement Web sites, he said.
The city and police department are considering whether to reduce the education requirement to allow for those who don't have a minimum of 60 college credits to be eligible to apply.
The change could help pull in more qualified candidates, particularly military applicants who may not have the education but have related experience or training, Larrabee said.
"The difficulty isn't usually getting the candidates. The difficulty is getting qualified candidates," he said.
A study on the relationship between education and the ability to perform as a police officer is being prepared and will be presented to the police commission in upcoming months, Larrabee said.
Police departments across the country have turned to offering sign-up bonuses, increased paid vacation time and decreasing requirements to lure candidates.
The Los Angeles Police Department has more than doubled its advertising budget to $3.5 million and offers a $1,000 cash reward to employees who provide a qualified recruit.
The San Diego Sheriff's Department is offering city police officers who transfer to their department up to $5,000 in bonuses. The Indiana State Police recently lowered its education standard to accept candidates with only a high school diploma.
Larrabee said incentives for employees and billboard advertisements are a few options the department is considering, but "that's still just conversation," he said.
Jeremy Wilson of the Rand Corp., a nonprofit think tank, said flashy incentives and relaxed education requirements or "forgiveness policies" on drug-use or background screenings can have a negative effect on policing.
"This is kind of a slippery slope," said Wilson, associate director of the Rand's Center on Quality Policing. "To what extent is this opening the floodgate to unqualified candidates and does the quality of policing suffer as a result of that."
Adding to the complications, Wilson said, is the increase in police duties after 9/11 make for a hard job description to sell.
"While it can certainly offer a stimulating work experience, there's a lot about it, such as the work schedule, unpredictability, overtime -- that are very unattractive to the younger generation of people they are trying to attract," Wilson said.
Still, recruiters and experts said finding candidates is only half the battle.
The yearlong application process can be discouraging; candidates often apply and test with several departments and accept the first position offered.
"They have to make major decisions concerning their lives, and they need to know where their next paycheck is coming from," Wilson said.
In Stamford, applicants must submit a successful application and pass a physical agility test before they can move onto the timed written exam. Qualified applicants then go on to complete a series of further requirements, including two polygraph tests, two medical exams and a background screening.
The department is running background checks and interviewing 50 applicants for entry-level positions and plans to pick 20 to begin in the police academy next month, police spokesman Lt. Sean Cooney said.
To help weed out unqualified candidates, the department recently reversed its requirements so candidates take the agility test before the written exam, city officials said.
Candidates are disqualified for a combination of reasons, from failing to disclose their criminal history or motor vehicle record, to not having a high school diploma. Some simply drop out, Murray said.
The most repeated disqualification is submitting a late application, she said.
To increase its candidate pool, Stella said she works with applicants to help them find ways to complete their education requirements or prepare for agility tests.
Recruiters have been expanding their outreach to job fairs and community centers in Westchester County, N.Y., and surrounding areas, she said.
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.