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ALBANY (WENY) – The New York State Police are trying a new recruitment effort to address the lack of diversity in their ranks.
Captain Ricky Williams is one of the officers leading this effort to make the department more diverse. He says that by doing this, it will allow them to reach a wider range of potential recruits.
“We are going out, we are trying to reach people that may not have considered a career in policing,” Williams says, “and let them know there is a place in our organization for them.”
The majority of officers in the state police are men. According to statistics from New York State, 88.46% are male, with only 11.55% being female. When it comes to race, 87.83% are white, while the other 12.17% are made up of other races and ethnicities. Captain Williams says the agency understands where they need to be better.
“We have to do a better job in talking to members of the communities especially the leaders.” He said. “So we have been across the state talking to community leaders, having meetings, educating them about the state police. So we understand there are a whole host of things we need to do collectively to really increase that diversity.”
He also added that they hope that by adding more diversity, it will increase their credibility.
“We also understand being more reflective of the communities that we serve we make us a better police agency.” Williams explained. “It gives us more credibility from the public.”
Captain Williams also added that they changed how they test potential recruits, switching from pencil and paper, to online, which allows for easier access at numerous testing centers across the state and country.
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