Champaign PD working to recruit more diverse officers

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - The City of Champaign has unanimously voted on hiring recruitment agency All-Star Talent to help bring in more diverse police officers.

In 2022 the Champaign Police Department hired 22 police officers. Due to officers retiring or resigning, there are now 17 vacant spots. City of Champaign Communications Manager Jeff Hamilton said that a higher number of officers is beneficial to the overall community.

“Having more officers on the streets will help our entire community. It will allow us to go out and do more community engagement at different events, neighborhood block parties, and that kind of thing. It allows us to do more specialized details in areas of concern that need a little extra attention in the community,” says Hamilton.

Hamilton also spoke about how important it is to have a police force that represents the community it serves.

“One of the City's priorities is to have a work force and a police force that represents our community so we would like to encourage more minorities and females to apply to be a police officer and to represent our community.”

All-Star Talent is a recruitment agency that has helped law enforcement in stated from Florida to California. The Champaign Police Department will work with the agency to develop new recruitment strategies and marketing campaigns to attract entry level police officers.

“The vendor will come in and talk with the Champaign Police Department about the culture. What kind of officers would be a good fit, what kind of people are we looking for to help us and to complement our ranks and then they will develop a campaign and a strategy to go out and to find those people,” said Hamilton.

Work to recruit new officers is expected to begin as early as this upcoming Spring. Information about the Champaign Police Department can be found here.