South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski gave an update on their police recruitment efforts this afternoon and the various ways they’re attempting to diversify the police force.
Buttigieg says 270 South Bend police applications have been started but only about 41% have been completed so far. The deadline for the next class of recruits is August 12th. Of the applications started, 16% of applicants identified as African-American and 12% identified as Latino.
Buttigieg says they are reaching out to churches and schools in South Bend to identify prospective applicants. He and the police chief added that everyone in the community should encourage qualified people to apply to the police department.
“If you care about the future of the department, if you care about the diversity of the department, I’m asking you to become a recruiter,” he says.
Buttigieg is also urging those interested in police practices to apply for the vacant seat on the Board of Public Safety. So far only two applications have been received and he is considering extending the application deadline.
