Workforce Development Program

The Rochester Police Department created the Workforce Development Program to improve recruitment and retention strategies. Through this program, the department seeks to increase officer recruitment and improve equity, inclusion, and the diversity of the police department to better reflect the city of Rochester’s population.
 

• Agency: Rochester Police Department
  
   
• Location:  Rochester, N.Y.
  
   
• Department size:  Large (>50 officers)
  
   
• Practice started February 2022
  
   
• Active

Law enforcement agencies find recruiting, hiring, and retaining police officers increasingly difficult. While factors including retirements, resignations, and the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted many professions, highly publicized cases that affect community attitudes towards police also have contributed to departments’ hiring challenges. In 2020, Rochester’s Police Department received approximately 1,500 applications from candidates to take an upcoming police examination. By 2021, however, that number decreased more than 50 percent to 700 applications submitted. The Rochester Police Department serves a geographical area of 37 square miles and more than half of the city’s population represents racial and/or ethnic minority groups. The department sought to increase recruitment and create a police force that reflects Rochester’s diversity.     

Program Description

In response to the declining number of applications, the Rochester Police Department’s Recruitment Unit created the Workforce Development program. This rolling, 12-month program, allows potential police officer candidates to participate in training and community engagement opportunities in preparation for the police exam. Initially designed to keep candidates engaged and create realistic expectations of the duties of a police officer, the program has evolved to include strategies designed to increase representation of women and racial and ethnic minorities from Rochester on the force.

Those interested in becoming a police officer register for the New York State Civil Service police officer examination. Using that list, the Recruitment Unit contacts individuals for participation in the program, which also connects with other potential candidates through the department’s social media, paid advertisements, churches, community events, recruitment events, and referrals. Individuals interested in participating contact the Recruitment Unit through email or the program’s website.

Participation in the program is unpaid and completely voluntary, with no guarantee of future employment or a competitive advantage to employment. Candidates sign a waiver which clearly outlines these points and includes a release for the City of Rochester and Rochester Police Department for liability of injury or harm. The Workforce Development team shares program standards and expectations with interested candidates prior to enrollment. Candidates also complete a basic onboarding questionnaire that measures their level of interest and identifies any disqualifying criteria.

Once an individual has been enrolled and participated for five to six weeks, they are considered a program candidate and are assigned to squads consisting of about 35 candidates who engage in one-on-one and group lessons with a designated Recruitment Officer Team. Each team comprises three police officers of various leadership ranks from the Recruitment Unit. The team develops individualized lesson plans for each candidate, guiding them through the program and working to keep them motivated.  Candidates meet weekly through a combination of in-person and virtual meetings for the duration of the program. The teams prepare candidates for the hiring process, including preparing written materials, physical agility, and psychological exams. The teams also help strengthen candidates’ skillsets, such as interviewing and resume development. The program offers specialized trainings to candidates interested in public speaking, financial planning, mental health, officer wellness, and implicit bias. On a weekly basis, candidates submit their goals and “weekly wins” to their teams and each squad identifies a candidate who exceeded expectations and effort. Candidates receive certificates for completing weekly challenges and meeting monthly expectations. The program manager also gives out a weekly ‘MVP’ belt to the candidate who went above and beyond the expected activities and effort.

Social media is integral to communication and program promotion. A private social media group distributes all communication to program candidates and allows program managers to share important event and other updates with active program members. Members from the Recruitment Unit use a separate Facebook page to highlight the program and its candidates, touting its community involvement, candidate triumphs, and the department’s overall recruitment efforts.

“Service above self” is the cornerstone of the Workforce Development program. In addition to their class participation, candidates must volunteer to meet a community engagement requirement and successfully complete the program. On average, candidates volunteer six hours per month, but many average much more. Candidates volunteer with local recreation centers, at-risk youth, individuals dealing with addiction or mental illness, or victims of violent crime. This first-hand experience allows candidates to interact with, and better understand the perspective of, some of the individuals they will encounter if successfully appointed as police officers.

The department also created an Early Hire program to improve candidate retention throughout the lengthy hiring process. This program hires Workforce Development candidates to fill civilian positions in the department as they move through the police hiring process. Candidates are immersed in the department culture as city records clerks, blue light camera operators, and 311 Department personnel, for example. The Rochester Police Department has hired eight candidates from the Early Hire program as of October 2023.

Since its inception, the Workforce Development program has enrolled approximately 500 candidates. As of October 2023, 54 candidates successfully completed the program and attended police academies, and most were hired as sworn officers. Twenty-three candidates became sworn officers within the Rochester Police Department and 29 candidates were hired by other local departments. Of the sworn Rochester Police Department hires from the Workforce Development program, 65 percent have been minority applicants.
 

Funding

The Rochester Police Department’s Recruitment Unit supports this program through its budget. The department also partners with the Rochester Police Foundation to fund occasional team building events and to provide uniforms for the Workforce Development candidates to wear during class and while out in the community volunteering.

Relevant Partnerships

The Rochester Police Department partners with more than 40 local groups within the community to coordinate volunteer opportunities for candidates. These critical partners include Youth for Christ, Boys & Girls Club of Rochester, ROC The Peace, Rise Up Rochester, Faith & Blue, House of Mercy Rochester, 19th Ward Community Association, Aenon Missionary Baptist Church, Uniting & Healing Through Hope of  Monroe County, ROCovery Fitness, First Genesis Baptist Church, City of Rochester Recreation, and Ibero-American Action League.

Supportive Research

Workforce development initiatives aim to ensure there is a pool of candidates with the necessary skills, knowledge, training, and experience to meet current and future workforce needs. While research on workforce development programs for law enforcement agencies is limited, some information does exist. The average amount of time from the written examination until the start of a police academy in Rochester is approximately nine to 15 months. Research suggests that, due to the length and complexity of each stage of the hiring process, more than half of the candidates will drop out before completion. Furthermore, results from a survey in New York City of candidates who dropped out during the police officer hiring process indicated the length of time and lack of clarity contributed to their decisions to withdraw from the process. This research suggests keeping candidates engaged throughout the hiring process may help with police officer recruitment.

Critical Success Factors

• Separate enrolled program candidates into smaller learning squads of 33 to 36 candidates to keep candidates motivated and engaged in physical agility tasks. Smaller groups ensure that each candidate receives adequate attention and support.
   
• Utilize social media to expand recruitment from Rochester to neighboring jurisdictions. Studies show the use of social media to recruit helps departments more quickly fill open positions.
   
• Maintain open lines of communication among the designated supervising officers from the Recruitment Unit, and recruitment officers and candidates. All candidates can communicate with officers via text or phone.
   
• Establish and communicate clear expectations, roles and responsibilities for Recruitment Unit officers and Workforce Development candidates. This encourages stronger relationships between candidates and their designated Recruitment Officer Teams. 
   
• Incorporate real-world opportunities as incentives for candidates who successfully adhere to program guidelines, which builds excitement for the program. For example, the Rochester Police Department offers a ride-along to candidates who are in good standing for at least three months, and there is high attendance and engagement during classes and volunteering (at least 50 volunteer hours in the community). The department limits a ride-along to two hours to minimize the potential impact to officers on shift.
   
   

Lessons Learned 

• Establish a pre-screening process to ensure candidates meet eligibility requirements prior to Workforce Development program participation to best utilize time and program resources. 
   
• Use social media to share information about activities, milestones, and successes within the Workforce Development program. This engages the community and stakeholders and helps to enhance future recruitment.
   
• Accept applications on a rolling basis. Previously, the Workforce Development program established deadlines for recruitment from applications submitted for the Civil Service exam, but now the program reviews exam applications submitted on a bi-weekly basis. This practice allows the department to take a proactive approach to screening candidates instead of recruiting when staffing needs are high.
  
   

The Recruitment Unit created an auxiliary team of officers to support and assist the unit’s officers. This team has 25 to 30 officers who attend volunteer and community events. Its members are interested in recruiting, comfortable with social media, and trained on interacting and engaging with the community.
 

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Published: 03/2024