Police departments across Ohio are experiencing officer shortages as they face difficulties retaining and recruiting staff. An increasingly popular solution, and one being explored by Kent State University, is to get people interested in law enforcement careers while they’re young.
The university’s Trumbull campus located in Warren hopes to do that with its Youth Police Academy Experience, which seeks to expose high school seniors to law enforcement careers.
The need for new police officers is urgent nationwide. Older officers are retiring and younger officers are resigning. The number of applications for police jobs is also plummeting as departments struggle to attract young and diverse candidates.
A recent report from the Police Executive Research Forum, a national police research and policy organization, found that officer staffing levels fell by 4.8% from January 2020 to January 2023. It also noted that recruiting and retaining enough qualified officers will become more difficult as departments address increases in violent crime and the rising demand for more community-based services.
KSU at Trumbull, which also operates a police academy for those who have completed high school or have a General Educational Development certificate, started the high-school program after James Willock, director of the police academy, and lecturer Lori Singer-Bare met with Warren City School District Superintendent Dante Capers.
Twelve Warren G. Harding High School students were selected to participate in a four-week experimental pilot program this past spring. Singer-Bare, a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Army who teaches at the academy and at the Youth Police Academy Experience, said the pilot was successful, as instructors received positive feedback from the students and school administrators.
"We hope this sparks some student interest in taking criminology and justice studies classes and maybe joining the police academy if that's the route they want to take,” she said, adding that she hopes it might also spark students' interest in non-profit work or law school. "Our big goal was to give students some exposure."
Students learned a wide array of skills, such as how to write reports, issue citations, testify in court, photograph a crime scene and administer a portable breath test.
Youth academies are becoming increasingly common, targeting students from middle school to college age, according to the police research report.
Such programs can improve community relationships with police and guide at-risk youth into stable career paths, according to the report. A few agencies also offer internships to individuals transitioning from military service.
The four-week Kent program, which starts Oct. 3, is limited to 25 spots. The deadline to apply is Sept. 4, and there is no cost. Those who complete the program will receive a $1,000 scholarship to enroll in Kent State's criminology and justice studies program.
The class meets weekly for two hours per session, during which participants can connect with community leaders and learn from instructors with subject matter expertise in their field.
The university describes it as an interactive, hands-on training that includes intoxicated driver detection and prevention, crime scene investigations, traffic stops, use of radar and lidar technology for speed limit enforcement and race relations and policing.
The final session on Oct. 24 will include a scholarship ceremony to celebrate program graduates. A second cohort is scheduled for the spring semester and will begin on Feb. 27.
According to Willock, judges, lawyers, prosecutors, state troopers, probation officers and police chiefs and sergeants are some of the many criminal justice professionals involved in the program. He believes the course will give students a comprehensive overview of the criminal justice system and sees it potentially becoming a model for the state.
"We have a wonderful generation of young people that can say, 'Hey, I can be the change. I can be the person that gets into this field and recognizes the things that can be done better. And I can be that positive person that makes those changes,'" he said.
Singer-Bare said she is excited for the new program to start this fall and looks forward to continuing her work at the police academy, as the incoming class includes more female and diverse cadets.
"Intentional recruitment is about the people who are proud every day to go out there and make their community better,” she said. “We are going to have good people doing good things for their community."
Students in lower socioeconomic groups often miss out on careers in law enforcement because they cannot afford to wait until they turn 21 to start working a municipal job, Willock said.
"There are agencies out there that are more than willing to hire people under 21 years of age, and that's what we're trying to get out there to young folks," he said.
The Kent police academy hosts a job fair for every cohort of cadets and provides additional tools and resources to help cadets find a job after graduation. Cadets also earn hours toward an Associate Degree of Applied Science in Criminology & Justice Studies. Applicants younger than 21 have also gone through the academy and found full-time jobs after graduation, organizers said.
"We are at a time where every department we've come in contact with has said they are hiring. The job market is out there right now for law enforcement professionals," Willock said.
The high school program has been a collaborative effort. Singer-Bare said the school’s student support services department and scholarship committee are confident that rewarding students participating in the program will encourage others to join the police academy or enroll at Kent Trumbull.
Singer-Bare and Willock said they are excited to see learners from every walk of life join both programs at Kent Trumbull.
"I think you should never stop learning,” said Singer-Bare. “Soon, we will probably see younger people joining, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
