There are 15 positions Lansing Police Chief Mike Yankowski is trying fill on his force. But he, like many police chiefs across the country, is having trouble recruiting.
"When I started trying to be a police officer 20 plus years ago there would be 6-800 of us going for one position," Yankowski said. "And in the last three processes that we've had, we've had less than 30 people moving on to at least have an interview."
Part of the problem is LPD didn't hire at all for five years, during the recession, and even had to fire officers for the first time since the Great Depression, the police chief said. "When people saw the profession losing so many police officers, they were choosing different career paths," he said.
To attract strong candidates, Yankowski says Lansing has changed its philosophy a bit. It's made some of the hard and fast disqualifications, like ever having smoked marijuana, a little bit looser. "Trying to find a 21 year old kid that hasn't used alcohol, hasn't been arrested for drunk driving, hasn't tried marijuana in their young adult life is rare," Yankowski said. "So we have to adjust a little bit to the times."
He and other officers are also doing long-term recruitment, through outreach to local elementary, middle and high schoolers.
"We're really trying to reach out to all of our youth, to let them know that the profession is a very noble profession, and it takes a special person to be a police officer," Yankowski said.
If you're interested in being an officer, Yankowski says he's hiring, just contact the Lansing Police Department or Lansing City's Human Resources Department.
