The CU Boulder Police Department (CUPD) recently completed a听recruitment plan document (PDF)听with the assistance of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement and other campus partners. The goal of the effort, which started several months ago, is to hire a workforce that better reflects the diversity of campus and the Boulder community when it comes to gender, race and other areas.
During this process, the group examined hiring practices over the past two calendar years based on gender and race. They examined all applicants for civilian and officer positions. From that evaluation, CUPD has developed and implemented a new recruitment plan to move the department forward.
鈥淲e want a workforce that looks like our community in terms of ethnic, cultural, racial, and gender makeup,鈥� said Police Chief Doreen Jokerst. 鈥淭his will take time to achieve and we鈥檙e committed to that. We plan to be more strategic with our advertising and in our decisions on what career fairs and community events we attend to attract more interest from underrepresented candidates.鈥�
To aid in this process, Jokerst enlisted the help of campus Affirmative Action Officer David Pacheco and Brenda J. Allen, who recently retired as the vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at CU鈥檚 Denver campus and Anschutz Medical Campus. Affirmative action is a federal law requirement for employers who are federal contractors, such as CU Boulder, to take positive actions toward outreach and employment opportunities for women, members of underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, veterans and individuals with disabilities.
鈥淐UPD鈥檚 recruitment plan is evidence of its commitment to attract not only more qualified candidates, but also to increase the diversity of its applicant pool,鈥� said Pacheco.听
The recruitment objectives that have been established for the department will achieve the following:
- Enhance the diversity of CUPD with greater numbers of minorities and women
- Improve retention rates of officers to keep the department staffed with experienced personnel
- Increase the number of qualified and diverse applicants who apply for positions with CUPD
- Build a robust applicant pool for those testing for the police officer position
鈥淚 commend the department for taking a proactive approach in developing their recruitment plan,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淭he promising practices that Chief Jokerst and her team have built into their hiring process will guide them towards achieving their commitment to diversity.鈥�
