About US
To better serve our communities, police agencies need to embrace fresh ideas and perspectives by recruiting, engaging, and supporting a new generation of qualified officers. From there, these officers will take the profession to new heights and build stronger connections with the people they are sworn to protect. Greater diversity is needed in agencies so that communities see themselves represented in their local police; however, many potential recruits are unsure how to prepare and succeed in the law enforcement profession. They may have concerns about receiving support, both from within the profession and from their communities. We ASPIRE to change that.
There is growing research on the best strategies for recruiting, retaining, and supporting qualified and diverse officers.
This includes:
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- effective marketing strategies that highlight the diverse tasks and roles performed by police officers,
- broadening the public perception of policework,
- and engaging in proactive recruitment efforts in our communities to bridge gaps in diversity.
However, many of these proven strategies are not yet put into action by police agencies across the United States.
Students and potential recruits need more information and support to understand what a career in this field can look like for them and how they can be integral to creating the change needed in policing today.
The core ASPIRE Project team consists of a multidisciplinary group of people from RTI International, the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE), the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Law Enforcement Executives and Administrators Association (HBCU-LEEA), and the Hispanic Association Police Command Officers Association (HAPCOA). The project uses transformative research principles to engage Historically Black College and University (HBCU) students, law enforcement and other community members to strengthen, diversify, and provide support to the policing field.
