The Syracuse Police Department is continuing its efforts to diversify the city’s police force in 2020.

SPD Chief Kenton Buckner, who came to the department last year, has said he wants the city’s police force to be more reflective of the Syracuse community. He addressed these efforts in a public forum in September 2019 where he called for the community’s help in seeking out diverse recruits.

“Having a police department that is reflective of the community is the goal so everyone feels represented,” said Sgt. Matthew Malinowski, an SPD spokesperson, in a message to The Daily Orange.

SPD’s first academy class of 2019 graduated five female officers and three Black officers out of a total of 33 graduates, said Nilieka Brown, public information specialist for SPD, in an email. There were five female officers, five Black officers and one Asian officer in the next 32-person class.

There are six Black recruits, one indigenous recruit and one Asian/Pacific Islander recruit in the ongoing 2020 class, Brown said. There are 35 recruits total.

SPD graduated two academy classes in 2019, with a focus on diversity and city residency, Brown said. The department hopes to graduate another diverse class of officers in 2020, she said.

The department has also emphasized promoting female and minority officers within the department, Brown said. Last year’s promotions included a Black sergeant, an Asian sergeant and a female lieutenant, she said.

Buckner said in September that the department hoped to involve local cultural organizations in its recruitment efforts. SPD has begun collaborating with some of these organizations, said Tavores Flournory, an officer involved with the department’s recruiting efforts.

“It’s one of [Buckner’s] main priorities, for us to get more diverse,” Flournory said. “That’s one of the things we’ve been working on.”

SPD tabled at the Syracuse NAACP’s cultural tent at the 2019 New York State Fair and set up displays at last year’s Festival Latinoamericano Syracuse, Flournory said. These events have allowed the department to appeal to recruits who may otherwise have been reluctant to enter the force, he said.

“I try to take Spanish-speaking officers, show them that they can have people speak both languages,” Flournory said. “To see someone else of their nationality doing the job, hopefully they can see themselves doing it too.”

Recruiting civilian SPD employees, such as traffic guards and community service officers, is also important, Fluornory said. Finding Spanish-speaking crossing guards for areas of the city with large Hispanic populations, for example, could be beneficial, he said.

Flournory has traveled to colleges throughout central New York colleges to recruit students, he said. The department also visits Fort Drum, a United States Army military reservation, throughout the year to recruit individuals from military backgrounds, he said.

Making the police force more representative of the community it serves is an ongoing mission, Flournory said.

“Now, the department looks like the community,” Flournory said. “If we have members from every aspect of the community here, it makes it easier to communicate to the public.”

Published on February 4, 2020 at 11:02 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu