Though Mayor Bill Peduto said he is committed to an inclusive and diverse administration, including the police force, achieving that may be as difficult as it was for previous administrations.
According to the Bureau of Police Annual Report 2013, there are 886 sworn personnel and recruits. Of those, just over 85 percent are White. Blacks account for just over 13 percent. At 76, Black Males comprise just 8.5 percent of bureau personnel. The census places the Black population of the city at 26 percent.
And the number of Blacks on the force, at least in the near term, has nowhere to go but down. Maurita Bryant, the city’s lone Black assistant chief, is eligible for retirement, as are its two Black female Zone commanders, its lone Black female lieutenant, one of its two Black female sergeants, three of its four Black male sergeants, six of its 10 Black female detectives, nine of its 20 Black male detectives, 13 of its 18 Black female master police officers and 16 of its 34 Black male master police officers.
New Pittsburgh Courier contributor Louis “Hop” Kendrick, a former Allegheny County detective, said the loss has been going on for years.
“I ain’t surprised and the officers I’ve talked to can’t wait to leave,” he said. “The whole system is bad.”
With respect to the possibility of recruits replacing some of these losses, the numbers reflect the opposite. The current recruiting class’, finalized April 1, 2013, numbers 31. Of those, only two—both females—are African-American.
These recruits were selected from an eligibility list of 909 candidates, 769 of them were White males. The total number of African-Americans on the list was 108, 68 males and 40 females.
While the numbers reflect an obstacle to increasing the racial balance of the police force, the bureau, at least recognizes that, noting on page 25 of its report:
“While some progress has been made in diversity recruiting, we have to continue our efforts to attract more diverse applicants.”
Others might argue they have to change their efforts. Peduto discussed the issue briefly during a meeting with the Courier Editorial Board in June where he said he “wouldn’t be surprised” to learn that Black candidates had been removed from consideration for police jobs during the civil service interview process.
He also said he hadn’t considered trying to recruit Black military veterans who, with the ordered reduction in troop levels, are even more available. Veterans get bonus points on the civil service exam that civilians do not.
“That’s a good idea,” he said.
Recently retired Pittsburgh officer Brenda Tate said the bureau’s demographics make her angry.
“It’s disgusting. A few years back, a small group of us went to the ACLU to try to do something about it. I said the only way to fix it was to sue the city–they only understand litigation,” she said.
“They are not serious about diversity—if they were, there’d be a department and a budget for it, but they won’t do that because it’s a lot of work. And they are going to continue to have Jordan Miles and Leon Ford incidents because of it.”
The bureau is engaged in several public relations and community outreach efforts such as the Cops & Kids Summer Camp in order to reach Black youths with the message that police aren’t bad guys and that police work is viable career choice.
And though bureau personnel attend recruiting functions with federal state and county police at venues like Point Park University, they have not specifically targeted Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The report says the bureau will expand its outreach efforts, using everything from traditional job postings to social media.
More on the annual report will appear in upcoming Courier editions.
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
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