Recommendations to Diversify Police and Fire Departments

7/26/2019 Recommendations to Diversify Police and Fire Departments

1/54

Recommendations

to

Diversify

Peoria

Police &

Fire Personnel

City

of

Peoria,

lllinois

Subcommittee on Police

& Fire Diversity

PRESENTATION TO

COMI\IITTEE

ON

POI,ICE

AND FIRE

DTVERSITY

October

8.

2015

G

fi= clt

y

oF

PEORIA


2/54

RecortnnrtENDATrotrs

To

Drvenstrv PeontR

Polrce

Ano

FrnE

PeRsorurueu

October

8,

2015

Subcommittee on

Police and

Fire

Diversity

NAME

Al Hooks, Co-Chair:

Rita

Ali, Co-Chair:

Tony

Ardis:

Debra Bush:

Daniel

Duncan:

Mike Eddlemon:

Phillip

Maclin:

James

McCoy:

Lynn Pearson:

Lisa

Snow:


3/54

TABLE OF CONTENTS


4/54

EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY

The Committee

on

Police &

Fire

Diversity

appointed

a Subcommittee

to analyze

the

problem

of

low minority

representation

among commissioned

police

and

fire

personnel.

The Subcommittee,

consisting

of an tnclusive

group

of

city and community

reoresentatives,

conducted

a

four-month comprehensive

study

to explore

issues

relating to the

lack of

minority hires among

commissioned

police

officers

and

firefighters

in

the

City

of

Peoria.

Multiple

problems

were identified

as systematic

conditions

that

have an

adverse

impact

on the hiring

of minority

candidates:

(1)

ineffective

recruitment

and

outreach

processes. (2)

score-based

ranking

systems'

(3)

lack

of

priority

considerations

given

to City

of Peoria

residents

or minorities,

(4)

no existing

police

or

fire cadet programs, and (5)

no

minority participants

in

the

Fire Department Explorers

program.

The Subcommittee

proposed

the

following

10 recommendations

aimed

to increase

the

hiring of

minorities

in

police

officer

and

firefighter

positions,

1 ,

Pass-Fail

Examination

for Police

Officer

Applicants

2.

Develop

an Ongorng,

High

Priority

Recruitment

Plan

3.

Change to Semi-Annual

Testing

Frequency

for

Police

and

Fire

4.

Reassign

the 30

points

in the

Fire

Department

Selection

Process

5.

Peoria

City Residency

Points

for

Police Officer

Candidates

6.

Establish

a Public Safety

Explorers

Program

within

District

150 Schools

7.

Establish

Police Cadet

Program

8.

Establish

Firefighter Cadet

Program

L

Annual

Performance

Goals,

Monitoring,

and

Reporting

10.

Diverse

Interview

and Criteria

Panels

The Subcommittee

identified annual

goals

for achieving

a

'1O-year

vision

lo

create

a

diverse

workforce

which

mirrors the demographics

of the

city for commisstoned

police

and

fire

personnel. The

need

to

act

on these

recommendations

with a

sense of urgency

is highly

encouraged.


5/54

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

The Police and Fire

departments

have

18.6%

and

14o/o

minority representationl,

respectively,

among the

commissioned

workforce. Census

data shows

the city of

Peoria

is

approximately

407o minority2.

As requested

by

the

Subcommittee

on

Police and Fire Diversity,

we

have

conducted

in-depth analyses

of the

city of

Peoria current employment

results and the

process

for the selection of

Peoria

police

officers

and

firefighters.

We were asked

to identify those

issues

that

contributed

to the

minority

gap

between

the Census and

Peoria Police

and

Fire

departments

data

and

to make recommendations

to solve

this disparity.

Based

on

our

review, the

following

problems

have been identified

as significant barriers

to

increasing the representation of minorities among Police and

Fire

departments'

commissioned

personnel.

Recruitment

processes

and community

outreach efforts

do not

achieve

sufficient

minority

representation

in

the Police

and Fire Department

candidate selection

oools.

The candidate

selection

process

from the

Police and

Fire

departments'

pools

emphasizes

a

score-based

ranking system

that has

negatively

impacted

minority candidates.

The

Fire Department

selection

process

has

resulted

in

the

hiring of only one

African

American out

of

the

74

firefighters hired

in

the

last

ten

years.

Notably,

the

one

African

American was

hired only after a

lawsuit was

filed against the City

of

Peoria.

The Police and

Fire Departments'

candidate selection

processes

do

not

grant

priority

considerations

for

City

of

Peoria residents or

minorities.

The Fire Department's

candidate

points

system,

as

previously

implemented,

negatively impacted minority applicants. (Points System recently changed,

as a

result

of this due

diligence

project,

to minimize

this

problem).

The

Fire Department

Explorers Program

does not

include minorities or

Peoria

youth.

The Police

Explorers are 68%

minority.

1

Police

Department

Employee

Report,

July

2015;

Fire

Department

Employee

Report, March

2015.

2

U.S. Census,

2010.

1.

2.

4.

6.

Page 3


6/54

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following

recommendations,

according to the Subcommittee.

represent the City's

best

opportunity

for reaching the

ten-year

vision

of

having a commissioned

police

and fire

workforce

that

mirrors

the

demographics of the

City

of Peoria.

Recommendation

#'l :

Recommendation

#2:

Recommendation

#3:

Pass-Fail Examination

for

Police

Officer

Applicants

For

police

officer applicants, the

written test will be scored

for

a

passing

score

and

will no

longer

be

rank

ordered.

Applicants who

pass

the

written

test, with

a

passing

score

predetermined

by

an

inclusive

police

managemenl

team

and

the city's Human

Resources

Department,

will

be

placed

in

the

candidale

pool

with no

rank

order.

Actual scores

will

remain

confidenlial

and

will

not

be released

to

applicants

or

the police

agency.

Due

to state statute

which requires

rank

order selection of

firefighters, a

pass-fail

examination will only apply

to

police

officer applicants.

Develop

an

Ongoing,

High Priority Recruitment Plan

Detailed recruitment

plans

will

be

created

or

enhanced

for bolh Police and

Fire

with

high

priority given

to

the

recruitment

of

minority applicants. The

plan

will

describe aggressive outreach

and recruitment

methods

and

include interview training

for

screening

committee

members.

The Police Deoartment's new

2015 Recruitment

Plan

was

developed specifically

to

attract minority and

protected

class individuals. lt

incorporates diverse hiring best

practices

and serves

to

.jump

start this recommendation. See Exhibit

F

&

J.

Change to Semi-Annual

Testing Frequency for Police and

Fire

Testing

twice a

year

will

give

candidates more opportunity

to

be

placed

in

a

hiring

pool.

lt

will

also allow the

Departments

lo

refresh

candidate

pools

more frequently. Minority

and

protected

class candidates

who have

recently

entered the

job

market are in

high

demand and it

is

necessary

for

departments to act

quickly

when

hiring.

Individuals who

are

left

on a

list for an

extended

period

of trme are

likely

to

find

another employment

option.


7/54

Recommendation

*4:

Recommendation

#5:

Recommendation

16:

Recommendation

#7:

Reassign

the

30

points

in

the

Fire

Department

Selection

Process

The firefighter selection

process

allows

for the assignment

of up

to 30

points

to criterion categories

for which a slight

advantage

would be

granted.

A

maximum

of

five

(5)

points

may

be

awarded

per

category

(veteran

status,

etc.)

As

part

of this due

diligence

project,

an

adjustment

was made to

the

process

to

grant

five

(5)

residency

points

to applicants

lhat

reside

within the City of

Peoda.

This

process

change was approved

by the

Police

and

Fire Commission.

Peoria

City Residency

Points for

Police

Officer

Candidates

Police

Officer applicants

shall

have added to

their composite

score,

which includes

both the

interview conducted by

the

Police Department

and

Fire

and

Police Commission,

five

(5) points

if

they

have an

established

residence

in

the

City

of Peoria.

Applicants

must

have

resided

in

the

City of Peoria

for

no

less

than a one

year

period

(365

days)

at the time

of the

police

applicant

test. Cunently

the

physical

agility and

wntten tests are offered

on the same date;

if in

the future

the

test

is

offered over

a

period

of

more than one

day then

the first

date the test

is offered

will be used to

calculate the one

year

time

oefloo.

Establish a

Public

Safety

Explorers

Program

within District

150

This

program

will

explore

careers

within both

police

and

fire

(including

firefighters,

police

officers,

dispatchers,

etc.).

lt is a continuation

and

broadening

of the

Police Department

"City

Youth'' Explorers

initiative which

has 6B% minority

participation.

The Fire Departmenl

s

Explorers group,

which

currently has no minonty parlicipants, will be

modeled after the

Police department

group.

The Public Safety

Explorers Program

will be similar

to

Houston's

C.A.S.E.Y.

Program.

See

Exhibits

D

&

|

for more detail.

Establish

Police Cadet

Program

The Police

Cadet

Program

is

an

extension of

the currenl

Police Explorer

Program.

The

Explorer

Program has been

very successful

recruiting

minority and

protected

class

students

from

Peoria Schools.

The

program

averages a

makeup of approximately

70% minority and/or

protected

class.

Current Exolorers who demonstrate talent,

initiative,

and drive

to

become

a

Peoria Police Officer,

will be

given

an

opportunity

to apply

for a

paid

civilian

part{ime

posation.

Once

hired. Cadets,

will work

in various units at

a multitude

of tasks on

the

Department.

They

will learn the

job

while

performing

basic

police

functions such as traffic

control,

crowd control and

record

keeping.

The

Cadets

will

also

attend

college classes

at

lCC.

See

Exhibit H

for further

detail

and

estimated cost.


8/54

Recommendation

#8:

Recommendation

#g:

Recommendation

*10:

Establish

Firefi

ghter

Cadet

Program

The

Firefighter Cadet Program

will be

similar to the

Police

Cadet

Program.

Peoria Explorer's Program

will

graduate

into

Firefighter Cadet Program

to assure

minority

participation.

The

redesigned

program

will

focus on

high school

youth

within

the City

of

Peoria, specifically those attending District

150 high schools. See

Exhibit

G for further

detail and

estimated cost.

Annual Performance

Goals,

Monitoring,

and

Repotting

Performance

goals

will be

established,

measured,

and

monitored

to

assure that

the

1O-year vision

can be

fulfilled.

Semi-annual

ptogress

reports to the

public

and City

Council

will be

required

fiom the

Police

& Fire Commission,

with support

from

police

and

fire agencies.

The

first

report

will

be

due

in June

2016.

To assure

progress

and

accountability,

placement goals

will be

incorporated to

the

management evaluations of departmental chiefs and the city

manager.

Diverse

Intewiew

and

Criteria

Panels

All

interview

and criteria

panels

will be

diverse and

inclusive

in

terms

of race,

gender,

and

rank.


9/54

PLACEMENT GOALS

The

10-year

vision

of creating a diverse

workforce

lhat mirrors the

demographics

of the

city can

only

be achieved through the establishment

of annual

placement

goals

which

adequately

recognize and address the

underrepresentation

of

minorities.

These

goals

are

permissible

by

law3 and

aim

to

correct

adverse

impact whereas

minorities are

underrepresented.

despite their availability,

within specific

job

groups

(also

see Exhibits

K & L regarding

legal decisions

and

cases).

The

following should be

understood about

placement

goals:

'I

.

Placement

goals

are not

used to supersede

merit selection

principles,

nor do

they require

the

Cily

to

hire

a

person

who lacks

qualifications

to

perform

the

job

successfully or hire a less qualified person in preference to a more

oualified one.

2.

Placement

goals

are

not

quotas

that must be

met, nor are lhey to be

considered

as either

a ceiling or a

floor

for

the

employment

of

particular

groups.

In

establishing

placement goals,

the Subcommittee

applied the

following

principle:

1.

Establish

a

percenlage

annual

placement

goal

commensurate

with a ten-year

goal

to

have

a

police

and fire workforce

which mirrors the

demographics of the

City of

Peoria

(by

2025)

The Subcommittee

proposes

the

following

annual

placement

goals:

Police Department:

The Police Department commissioned

ranks

are

currently

18.60,20

minority. The minority

percentage

should

increase

at a minimum

of B% annuallv

to

achieve

40o/o by 20254.

Fire Deoartment.

The Fire Department

comnrissioned

ranks are

14% minority. The minority

percentage

should increase

at

a minimum

of

11ok

annuallv

to achteve

40o/o by 20255.

These

goals

will be achieved

by improving

processes,

holding administrators

accountable

and

monitoring and

measuring

performance

regularly. The

process

should

be

reviewed, and

improved, annually to track

and assure

progress.

r

Affirmative Actron

Facl

Sheel.

U.S Dept.

of

Labor.

http://www dol

gov/ofccp/regs/complrancelaa

htm

3

Goals

for

police

diversity

will b adjusted according to

new

demographic data

from

US

Census

:

Goals

for fire{ighter diversity

will

be adjusted according

to

new

denrographic

data

from

US Census


10/54

CONCLUSION

The adhoc Subcommittee on

Police &

Fire

Diversity concluded

its work on September

29, 2015

with

unanimous

support for the

recommendations

proposed

herein.

The

group

encourages

city leaders to

give

serious and urgent atlentaon

lo the

problem

that

has

been

identified,

whereas, significant

gaps

exist

in

the

hiring

of

minority candidates

for

City of

Peoria commissioned

police

and fire

positions.

Notably, significant

gaps

also

exist

in the hiring of

female

candidates.

ldeally, the

workforce of the city

should

mirror

the

demographics

of the

residents

of that

city.

Among commissioned

police

and

fire

personnel,

there

is

a misalignment

with this

ideal

scenario.

lmplementation

of

the proposed recommendations represents an important leap

in

addressing

systemalic

issues that have negatively

impacted the

hiring of

minorities

as

police

officers

and

firefighters.

Much

time

has

passed

without a concentrated.

methodical. and effective

effort to turn

this situation around.

Yet, there

is no time like

the

present

to take

the

necessary steps toward

progress

in

this

area.

Our vision

is

that

the City

of

Peoria

can

put

in

place

hiring

pools

and

selection

processes

that consistently

provide

a

qualified,

diverse

workforce

that

mirrors the city's

demographics

for the

Police and Fire

Departments.

We

believe

that,

given

sufficient

commitment

to this

goal,

the

vision can be

realized over

a ten-year

period

(by

2025).

Peoria

is a

great

American cily.

Inclusive

representalion among

Police

and

Fire will make

il even

greater.

A

sense of urgency

and

priority

is

required.


11/54

LIST

OF

EXHIBITS

Exhibit

A

City

of Peoria Employment Analysis

Exhibit

B

Percentage Employed vs. Percentage Cily (Police & Fire)

Exhibit C

Public

Safety

Career Fair

Exhibit

D

C.A.S.E.Y. Fire Ops Program

-

Houslon

(Best

Practice)

Exhibit E

Frequency of Fire Department Tesling

/

Interview

Panel

Exhibit

F Cily of

Peoria Police Department

Recruitment

Plan

Exhibit

G

Peoria

Fire Department Cadet

Internship

Exhibit

H

Peoria

Police

Department

Cadet

Program

Exhibit

I

Current

Police Explorer's Program

Exhibit J

Peoria Fire Department

Recruitment

Proposal

Exhibit K

Schuetle v. Coalition to

Defend

Affirmative

Action.

el al

Exhibit L

Majeske

v. City of Chicago

-

Affirmative Action Case


12/54

EXHIBITA

City

of Peoria Employment

Analysis


13/54

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Recommendations to Diversify Police and Fire Departments

Documents

Transcript of Recommendations to Diversify Police and Fire Departments