Cape PD recruitment tool: It's 'a perfect-size' department

By playing to its strengths as a department, Cape Girardeau police say they’ve weathered trends that have left other departments in need of recruits in recent years.

But public-information officer Rich McCall said that doesn’t mean the department doesn’t face challenges.

“If you start at the bottom and look up in terms of recruitment problems, not a lot of people want to be cops,” McCall said.

Even those who do face a variety of hurdles — some literal — separating a candidate and a badge. From the physical and mental tests to the criminal background check, many candidates are ruled out from the start.

“There are some people who go on a ride-along and see what it’s like, and they think it’s too dangerous; it’s too stressful,” he said.

To meet these challenges, Cape Girardeau police have made it a priority to maintain a close working relationship with Southeast Missouri State University’s police adacemy.

Several officers even serve as adjunct professors for the academy.

“We like to stay in somewhat constant communication with the criminal justice department at the University,” McCall said. “You get kids that are in college, but even then, they tend to want to go home and do law enforcement in their own area.”

Or, he added, some head to larger departments for the potential of a larger salary.

But McCall said those most concerned with making money pass over law enforcement in the first place.

“That’s never been a real issue to me personally,” he said. “The issue to me is: Is it a good department?”

He said that is where Cape Girardeau’s department shines. Of the five police agencies he’s served, McCall said his current department has a top-flight culture.

“By far,” he said. “Leaps and bounds, the best.”

Part of that, he explained, comes down to the department’s size.

It’s not too small to support operations, but at the same time, it’s not too large for the chain of command to interact on a personal level with patrolmen.

“I’ve got friends who work at St. Louis Metro [Police Department],” McCall said. “I don’t want to be a number. I want to work for an agency where I know my chief well, and to me, Cape is the perfect size agency for that.”

This year, the department made five new hires, according to police records.

Over the past five years, the number of hires was lowest in 2012 — six — and highest in 2014 — 19 — but has otherwise hovered in the middle.

Several of this year’s departures and subsequent hires have been the result of high-ranking officers retiring, which McCall said allows the department to better anticipate needs.

While he acknowledged several factors lined up to eliminate candidates, McCall said the most important factor in a prospective officer is ensuring they align with the department’s commitment to “community policing.”

“What makes a great police officer is a person with patience,” he said. “A person with a great community attitude. I’ve taught a lot [of officers], and the faster you realize you’re a citizen of the community in which you’re enforcing the laws, the better.

“Police officers usually deal with people on the worst days of their lives. It’s important to have patience and respect.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627