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In Speech, Police Chief Sanchez Laments the Struggle to Hire New Officers

Published on Friday, October 9, 2015 | 5:55 am
 
Pasadena Chief of Police Phillip L. Sanchez at the Police Foundation's annual Chief's Breakfast, this year held October 8, 2015.

In an era of troubled relations nationwide between police and citizens, and when law enforcement careers go wanting, Pasadena Police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez issued a call to the community to respect and appreciate police officers, while lamenting the lack of new officers in the City’s ranks.

Speaking before a large audience which included Mayor Terry Tornek, Assemblymember Chris Holden, and numerous active and retired police officers, Chief Sanchez spoke at length about the challenges facing today’s law enforcement officer.

“The contemporary law officer is part social worker, part peacekeeper, part mitigator, and part problem solver,” said Chief Sanchez at the Pasadena Police Foundation “Chief’s Breakfast” event at Church of the Nazarene Thursday morning.

“The duality of the police officer experience,” said Chief Sanchez, “is that every time one goes out to answer a call, 50 percent of the people involved in the incident are elated to see them, and the other half, well, not so much. But nevertheless, every day without fanfare or drama, Pasadena Police officers arrive at their duty stations, and discharge their duties with professionalism, with compassion, and with a focus to making our community better.”

But Pasadena, like so many other American cities, is challenged by the search for new officers, he said.

“Currently we look at about 120 applications to hire one Pasadena police officer,” he continued. And despite the relatively high numbers of transfers out of the department — 17 this year, according to the Chief — he praised the high quality of the department’s officers.

“We hire people who have respect,” he said, “for themselves and for the community. We hire people who are courageous, and that includes moral courage. We ask difficult questions during the background process to make sure we are getting the best applicants.”

But given the national tone, he continued, “it is becoming more and more difficult to hire good police officers.”

“We must ask ourselves,” pondered the Chief, “why are there fewer and fewer men and women who are interested in a career of service? Where is the future of law enforcement if we cannot hire, train and retain qualified applicants? What will that mean for society as a whole?”

Police Chief Sanchez, Melekian Outstanding Youth Award winner Rileigh Clarke and Angela Hawekotte, of the Pasadena Police Foundation.

The problem of hiring qualified officers has plagued Pasadena for a number of years, but according to at least one local police association, the problem is not unique to Pasadena.

“This is not a problem isolated to our city,” said Bobby Crees, spokesperson for the Pasadena Police Sergeants Association . “I have been in contact with dozens of other agencies, and all of them are having a hard time finding good qualified candidates.”

The City of Pasadena also recently agreed on a new contract for new officers, which Sanchez praised and thanked the Mayor and City Council for.

“That will help,” said Crees. “It keeps Pasadena competitive. I think we still have some work to do, but it is a good start. We are hiring laterals (transfers from other departments). We have hired several laterals over the last several months and continue to have laterals show interest. We have slowed down on the number of officers leaving the department and are trying to make headway on our own vacancies.”

Chief Sanchez also spoke to the importance of creating and maintaining a diverse police force. In fact, the Chief recently sent a recruitment team to a college campus in Mississippi to look for minority applicants.

However, said Sanchez, “I need to hire local minority students. The truth is, we need to focus more locally.”

Sanchez implored the audience members to “take the next step,” to help actively recruit candidates for the Pasadena Police Department.

The discussion, he said, “that you should be having in your family with your son or daughter, or niece or nephew, at breakfast, at church, or around the dinner table or elsewhere, is, ‘Have you ever thought about becoming a Pasadena police officer?’”

And, said the Chief, while he respects those have left the department, he “embraces with great enthusiasm the new men and women who are coming aboard.”

Sanchez also praised this year’s Melekian Outstanding Youth Award winner, Rileigh Clarke of Westridge School. Clarke is a member of the JV basketball team, a member of Amnesty International, the Gay-Straight Alliance, and is a volunteer at Huntington Hospital. She plans to study criminology and sociology in college with the eventual goal of working for the FBI.

Finally, Chief Sanchez introduced and praised the work of the Pasadena Police K-9 team, announcing that the team has been expanded and that a new SUV has been purchased by the department for their use.

 

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