On July 11, 2016, during a press conference, Dallas police chief, David Brown, stated, "were hiring" … "get off that protest line and put an application in and we will help you resolve some of the problems you're protesting about.
Since Chief Brown's "we're hiring" announcement, the Dallas Police Department has seen an increase in job applications of 344 percent. I argued with a relative that job applications would not only increase, but a lot of African-Americans would apply for the job. So far I've been proven right on the increase, now I'm waiting to see who has applied.
Discrimination in Police Hiring
Throughout the Ferguson Protest, we kept hearing the reason Ferguson had an almost all white police force was because few black officers applied for the low paying positions. The first time that explaination was given, I laughed and sarcastically stated, things must have really changed in this country, white people now take the low paying jobs that black people don't want.
Police departments are mostly white by design. Testing, education, criminal histories, psych exams and various other techiques are used to weed out black police recruits. Behaviors have been criminalized in black communities which ensures large numbers of black people are prevented from becoming police officers. For example, the heroin addiction that affecting white communities won't prevent addicted teens from becoming police officers later in life because their addiction will be labled an illness rather than a crime. Many black drug users were labled felons for small quantities of drugs, preventing them from becoming officers. Just look at some of the headlines below from recent newspaper articles.
U.S. Sues Texas City Over Discriminatory Police Hiring Practices
Chicago to pay $3 million to settle police hiring discrimination lawsuit
Pittsburgh settles police hiring discrimination suit for nearly $1M
Eugene, Oregon settles with U.S. over police hiring discrimination
Black Police Applicant Frustrated by Opaque Hiring Process
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median annual salary for patrol officers was $58,320 in 2015. The best-paid 10 percent in the field made $96,110, while the bottom 10 percent made $33,430.
Given half a chance, many African-Americans would jump at the chance to earn that type of salary. If you are young and black and are thinking about becoming a police officer, apply, we need you.
Apply to become a St. Louis Police Officer. BI-WEEKLY RATE OF PAY $1,539.00, Police Officer (Trainees) shall receive the bi-weekly Trainee rate of $1,539 upon appointment and serve in a working test (probationary) period. Upon successful completion of their working test period, training period at the Police Academy and being granted permanent status, a Police Officer (Trainee) shall be eligible for promotion to the rank of Police Probationary Officer at an annual salary of $43,424.
The hiring process is a long one and may be designed to weed certain people out. Seek out a black police officer, talk to them about the job and let them know you're interest so they can help mentor you through the process.
If you have a criminal record, see if you're eligible for Expungement, if so have your records expunged before applying. Good luck!
