CAPE MAY – Across the county, the state and the nation, each year brings new challenges for police departments seeking to recruit qualified men and women into a law enforcement career. The Police Chief Magazine speaks of a “crisis facing law enforcement.”
In New Jersey, new alternative hiring programs have been created to aid municipal police department recruitment. Ultimately, in such a competitive environment, the burden falls on each department to develop its strategy and make its case.
In Cape May, Chief Dekon Fashaw unveiled part of his department’s effort for the City Council on Sept. 20. The Cape May Police Recruitment Program is a multifaceted approach to the task and includes college visits throughout the tri-state area of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
On the day of Fashaw’s presentation, his team had just returned from a visit to Seton Hall. Schools on the recruitment trail include Rowan, Rutgers, Atlantic Cape, William Paterson, Stockton and others.
One recruitment tool used in these visits is a high-quality 2-minute video meant to show prospective recruits the community in which they would work. The video is available on the department’s website. The website also has an employment tab that carries a prospect to details on applying.
Fashaw credited Detective Kelly Shustack with initially broaching the idea of college recruitment trips and a department video. He also noted that several other officers helped make it a reality.
In Cape May, Fashaw and his department are taking the recruitment challenges on with innovative strategies the department has not had to employ in the past.
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