It’s still cool to be a cop. That’s one of the messages of a new recruitment campaign the city of Kingman is rolling out hoping to find the best available people to serve its police department.
Like heads of other area law enforcement agencies have been saying for years, Police Chief Bob Devries said low pay and benefit package issues make it difficult for Kingman to hire and retain police officers. Devries and City Manager Ron Foggin explained during a Tuesday news conference that another problem is that fewer young people are interested in law enforcement careers today, as compared with a decade ago.
Devries said city officials expended considerable energy conducting research to learn how other organizations have better success with recruiting. He said it was very surprising to borrow an exciting recruitment model from New Zealand, of all places.
“We checked everywhere and anywhere, but this campaign jumped out and this campaign fit what we were looking for,” he said. “It incorporates humor and shows the human side of what police officers do…It’s not just the officer in the patrol car that you see out there. It portrays all of the different specialty assignments, all of the things that individuals can get involved in.”
A series of colorful poster boards was displayed at the press conference featuring male and female Kingman police officers engaged in some of their various roles in the community. He said the posters will be going up soon in high profile places, aiming to get teenagers to consider police work.
“We just want to flood the area so that when people are thinking about a career we want them to think KPD. This is the place where we want them to go,” Devries said.
“Do you have what it takes to be a cop,” is the primary slogan incorporated into the recruitment campaign. Others include “Who you are is important to us” and “Turn your kindness into a career.”
Devries said social media will also be used and that there are plans to produce a video as well.
