DPS offering financial incentives for police forces to diversify
by Ahmad Muhamad
Police departments across the state and nation are looking for new ways to recruit officers after contending with staffing challenges in recent years. Coupled with this, many are putting an emphasis on diversifying their ranks.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is seeking proposals from enforcement departments statewide for Pathways to Policing – a grant program aimed at incentivizing police agencies to recruit officers from underrepresented communities.
Following the murder of George Floyd by a then-Minneapolis police officer and the increased scrutiny on policing, recruitment of officers from underrepresented communities has emerged as a potential solution to improving the relationships between officers and the communities they police.
Pathways to Policing program is funded by a $390,000 allocation from the Minnesota Legislature to the Minnesota Office of Justice Programs as part of its yearly budget.
Reimbursement grants ranging from $20,000 to $60,000 are given to departments to cover 50% of wages and salaries, training, equipment or tuition and books for candidates pursuing law enforcement degrees, among other costs.
The deadline for departments to submit a grant proposal is March 14.
The program is aimed at recruiting more officers to a profession that has historically been very white. While other groups -- Hispanics, Asians -- are increasing their representation, the proportion of Black officers has remained at just under 12%.
Several police departments applied to take advantage of the program last year, including St. Paul, which received $75,000 to fund six new cadets. St. Louis Park was awarded more than $63,000 to fund three officers. Carver County, with a more than $45,000 award, funded two recruits. But since the program began in 2017, fewer than 10 departments have applied for the funding each year.
“If we had 10 or 15 applicants, that’d be awesome. It’d be great to have that level of interest,” grant program administrator Kristin Lail told law enforcement officials. “I know that the state Legislature is interested in maybe increasing this funding, but we’ve never been able to really request that because we’ve never spent all the funds.”
Police staffing shortages have persisted in the Twin Cities in the years since Floyd’s murder. As applicants dwindle, departments are trying several methods to boost those numbers, including hiring and retention bonuses, as well as internships for high school students interested in law enforcement.
In addition to the state program, one Minnesota congressman is working to expand the program nationwide.
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