Amid scrutiny over Cleveland police hiring practices, the department has been scouting Historically Black Colleges and Universities to help fix its image. Not everyone is on board.
Yarnell Rickett wants to see more Black and brown police officers at his police department. He believes Historically Black Colleges and Universities like his alma mater, Central State University in Ohio, are fertile grounds to hire a new generation of officers who have a better understanding of the communities they serve.
HBCUs produce nearly 20% of all Black college graduates, according to the United Negro College Fund, but many non-Black students attend these schools as well. “A person coming from an HBCU may have the best of intentions, but once a person becomes a part of the police department here in Cleveland, they normally go along to get along because they want to be a part of the blue,” said Brenda Bickerstaff, an activist with Citizens for a Safer Cleveland, a group calling for more police oversight in the city.
The Marshall Project - Cleveland reported in September that the federal monitor overseeing the city’s police reforms described Cleveland Division of Police hiring practices as “disturbing” and “alarming.” The monitor’s report said that the city hires officers who could not pass background checks with other police departments. The report also stated the department lacks accountability, community engagement and trust.
“It is not just about race, it is about having people who have diverse and lived experiences,” said Drummond, who briefly attended Tennessee State University, an HBCU in Nashville, before transferring to the University of Toledo to finish his degree. Lincoln University Police Chief Gary Hill, who is the director of its law enforcement training program, said his goal for creating the program was to “increase the diversity pool” for police agencies in the state and to have a place where students can share their ideas and perspectives on policing.
Police departments should consider education requirements for police outside of civil exams and attending police academies, said Adams, the Bowie State professor. Daryl Thorpe, a 22-year-old criminal justice major at Bowie State, said he wants to reshape the system from the courtroom. Chambers’ goal now is to become a youth counselor to keep young people out of the criminal justice system. She said police departments should look at recruiting cadets who want not only to change the community through law enforcement, but also through mentorship, outreach and service.
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