At first, Obama’s minority new-hire quotas for police departments seemed unrealistic to everyone watching. Black officers make up just 12% of all local police officers, according to a survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
With heightened media attention on police brutality, departments have struggled to recruit and retain African-Americans. “Black distrust of police departments made recruitment a seemingly impossible task, we didn’t know how in hell we would hit the quotas. We circulated some emails around the department asking how we could utilize minority officers,” said an officer in Cleveland, “when we approached it that way, we were able to answer our own question.”
We circulated some emails around the department asking how we could utilize minority officers,” said an officer in Cleveland, “when we approached it that way, we were able to answer our own question.”
Youth Internship Programs
Because of the program’s success, many police canine departments are creating summer youth internship programs. Minority children (asthma-free) aged 14-17 can apply for summer internships at local police departments.
