With the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in law enforcement, police agencies have stepped up their efforts to encourage potential candidates by hitting the road, exposing the uniqueness and fulfillment in serving the citizenry as sworn first responders or any of the array of non-sworn roles comprising a crime-fighting and community service organization.
The New Jersey State Police went right to the heart of those studying the criminal justice system, perhaps tapping into some students who are interested in a career as a cop, speaking to college students at a Rutgers University campus.
Top Cops’ Pitch
Leading from the front, the top cop presiding over the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) joined troopers assigned to the agency’s Recruiting and Outreach unit and spoke before a class seated for an Introduction to Criminal Justice course, exposing the many ways a career as a Garden State law enforcement officer can be rewarding and of significant service.
On April 8, 2024, “Colonel Patrick J. Callahan and Major Dave Sierotowicz spoke to Rutgers New Brunswick’s Intro to Criminal Justice class on the Livingston campus. It allowed the students to learn about the New Jersey State Police and the many ways we serve our communities,” offering “120 different career paths.”
(Photo courtesy of the New Jersey State Police.)
Besides the brass, “There were recruiters on hand to answer all questions about our application process.”
Respectfully speaking, it is a certain signal when the national shortage of law enforcement officers is dour enough to engender the state police agency’s top cop to hit the road with Recruitment contingents to pitch the police roles and influence applicants.
Despite its storied history and iconic presence in the Garden State, the NJSP also endures low staffing levels that hamper the public safety mission and increase the dangers for the remaining cadre of cops, as well as delay calls for service requested by citizens.
Recruitment Mission
Given that it is a state law enforcement organization, as opposed to a rural sheriff’s department of modest means, the New Jersey State Police answers to Garden State governance. As such, the NJSP administration came up with Recruiting Strategic Plan 2023 to help fill police academy seats and raise the roles.
“Recruiting Unit will continue to solicit qualified candidates who reflect the diversity of the population of the State of New Jersey. In 2022, the Recruiting Unit maintained continuous engagement with potential applicants, bolstered the Recruiting Unit database, and developed and executed a recruiting campaign for the 165th State Police Class.
“Although we continue to fulfill the initiatives set forth in previous strategic plans, we endeavor to enhance our efforts to recruit, mentor, and assist qualified applicants in the successful completion of the New Jersey State Police Academy. Recruiters are continuously seeking individuals who are suitable to move forward the Division’s various missions such as crime prevention, community engagement, and intelligence-led policing.
(Photo courtesy of New Jersey State Police Recruiting and Outreach.)
“The members of the Recruiting Unit are actively developing a recruiting campaign for the 166th New Jersey State Police Class. The campaign is aimed at attracting candidates who meet the academic, physical, and background criteria established in the selection process standards,” thus visiting young people such as students at colleges and universities.
Concentrating on “candidates who meet the academic” criteria, the NJSP standards laugh in the face of a former U.S. president who touted lowering police hiring standards, and anyone who somehow thinks minimizing the criteria to be a LEO is advantageous.
Hence, the NJSP has a three-tiered education-based tenet among its stringent hiring protocols:
- An applicant must have a bachelor’s degree, signifying completion of the undergraduate curriculum and graduation from an accredited college or university. Or…
- An applicant must have an associate degree or 60 college credits from an accredited college or university PLUSat least 24 months of satisfactory employment and/or military experience by August 31, 2024. Or…
- An applicant must have 30 college credits from an accredited college or university PLUSat least 24 months of active duty military service by August 31, 2024.
In a Washington Post report written about commentary made by guest speaker Cedric L. Alexander, a police leader who dedicated most of his life to law enforcement and its professionalization, serving multiple leadership roles, the gist is that quality caliber cops trump quantity:
“We cannot advance policing unless we advance the education of the rising generation of officers. The 21st century demands better-educated men and women, who have acquired and practiced the skills of critical thinking, possess a high degree of technological competence, have a basic grasp of behavioral psychology, a solid knowledge of laws and their application, and understand both the value and reality of diversity in the American population.
“I have come to believe that a two-year associate’s degree or a four-year bachelor’s degree and life experience are not merely desirable but essential for police work. High school is far from sufficient. I suggest two or four years of college with a major in psychology, other social science, or even social work. But any field that inculcates critical thinking would provide invaluable background for officers. They need the mental skills to decide the truth or falsity of a claim or belief.
(Photo courtesy of New Jersey State Police Recruiting and Outreach.)
“Critical thinking lifts judgment and actions above prejudicial fallacies and biases. This is essential to policing in America’s increasingly diverse communities.”
Hard to conceive of anyone’s notion of willingly walking away from the cream of the crop, instead focusing on the bottom of the barrel to fill uniforms with likely unqualified individuals armed with a firearm and inherently conferred authority. Based on their hiring criteria, the NJSP concurs.
Other than their acute focus on academic-oriented police candidates, NJSP recruiters also set up tables and tents at other venues, reaching out to unique audiences, hoping to influence fast-thinking folks…
Recruitment On Track
As I reviewed the New Jersey State Police Recruiting and Outreach Unit material, I learned troopers are also scheduled to attend NASCAR events, setting up shop “at the Fan Zone,” in which state cops answer questions and garner appeal from racecar enthusiasts.
The interest in police careers of those who are fans of professionals in the fast lane may realize similar performance excitement derived from professionals working in law enforcement.
“The New Jersey State Police are hitting the track at Dover Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on April 27th! Troop Cars making left turns? You bet!”
Troop cars? It turns out that the New Jersey State Police also has a racecar on the track, bearing #4 and the graphics “NJTrooper.com” and “TroopersUnited.org.”
(Photo courtesy of the New Jersey State Police Recruiting and Outreach.)
Whether they attract any attention from NASCAR spectators or not, at least a moving advertisement looping around many times for all to see will deposit in minds the potential career of a lifetime for those who seek to do some good in our zany society.
Circling back to higher education in law enforcement, a portion of what NJSP Colonel Callahan, Major Sierotowicz, and other recruiters discuss at the college campus visits (such as the excursion to Rutgers University) is the opportunity to conduct an internship with the agency, testing the waters…
Seeking to get the proverbial foot in the door, I registered for a police internship while studying criminology at the university. Conventionally, this afforded the police department at which I chose to intern…the opportunity to get to know me, my character traits, and my persona, offering a walking book version of me.
Conversely, I derived the tempo, organizational structure, personnel, resources, governance, and geographical landscape for which the police department and its staff were responsible.
At the college internship’s conclusion, a supervisor approached me privately and urged me to apply, claiming they already suggested the agency’s recruitment unit personnel recruit me and that a recommendation letter was drafted and submitted to the police chief’s office for consideration. Wow! I thought.
None of this did I expect. All of it I loved. My entire police career was spent in this department.
A few years after I was sworn in, I was approved to supplement our agency Recruitment Unit. Working stints outside my fundamental street duty, attending college campuses and general job fairs throughout Florida, we circuited, answered questions, and handed out tons of police souvenirs such as pens, mugs, stickers, etc.
The NJSP Recruiting and Outreach unit’s brochure regarding their Internship component explained that “It is an opportunity to get work experience working alongside Troopers and civilian employees who are experts in their respective units or road stations.
(Photo courtesy of the New Jersey State Police Recruiting and Outreach.)
Mind you, “work experience” is one of their hiring criteria…so they are aiding those who are piqued for policing.
“Also, the skills and knowledge that you will develop can be a beneficial tool when competing for law enforcement jobs. Lastly, it shows a true commitment to a career in law enforcement.”
Despite recruitment and retention issues encountered by many American law enforcement institutions, searching for and selecting hugely qualified individuals to strive for success in the rigorous and demanding training academy benefits not only police cohorts but, namely, the citizenry they swear to serve and protect.
We close with a robust assessment rendered by Mr. Alexander:
“I understand that it is counterintuitive to respond to a shortage of willing recruits by making the requirements more demanding. But this is the only way to redeem and renew the profession. In the long run, raising standards will create departments that more of our best and brightest will want to join. This, in turn, will create a generation of peace officers willing to invest themselves in creating the kind of relationship with the communities they serve that will not only better serve them but also will restore to the profession the public trust and esteem that comes with true nobility of purpose.”
What are your thoughts on this subject matter?