TACOMA, Wash. — The Tacoma Police Department is exploring new ways to try to close a diversity gap in the police force.
Officer Loretta Cool said the department has hired a local advertising agency, which is conducting a series of focus groups to help the department figure out how to recruit more officers who are people of color, particularly black women.
“What we would really love to see is that the diversity of our department matches the diversity of the city,” said Cool.
Currently, that is not the case. The Tacoma Police Department has 361 commissioned police officers, but only four of them are black women. They represent just one percent of the department. Tacoma’s black female population is roughly five times that.
Cool said it’s not for lack of trying to recruit diverse officers.
“We’ve tried to do different targeting recruiting so we can attract a minority population that matches the diversity of our city,” she said. “Our efforts are apparently falling short because we continue to get a majority of white males applying.”
The focus groups, led by Tacoma marketing firm Hemisphere Design and Marketing, are meant to “understand how to better engage with, and hire, people of color,” according to a Facebook post by the police department.
The most recent focus group was hosted at Peace Community Center in Tacoma’s Hilltop District. Executive Director L. Denice Randle said the nonprofit works to create career opportunities for school-aged children of color in fields where they are underrepresented.
“Our organization’s goal and mission is really to be a space where individuals can come and gather and where we’re able to hear different stories and narratives and experiences,” said Randle. “I just really appreciate the department being transparent and allowing space for a voice.”
Cool said she hopes to send the message to diverse applicants that the Tacoma Police Department is a viable career option with, among other things, good pay and a pension.
“We have a great city,” she said. “We have wonderful officers. We have one of the best training facilities here. Why wouldn’t you apply?”
Cool acknowledged that “national narratives” about policing and police brutality have had an impact on hiring. Asked whether she believed hiring an ad agency would be enough to reach communities of color, she shrugged.
“We don’t know that it is going to be enough,” she admitted. “What we do is that what we’re doing now hasn’t been successful. So I think if this doesn’t boost numbers, we’ll explore other avenues.”