Recruiting for Tomorrow 
Investing in Human Capital
Closing Plenary Session

Recruiting for Tomorrow, Retaining for Today

Daniel Rosenblatt, executive director of the IACP, filled in for Mary Ann Viverette, chief of the Gaithersburg (Maryland) Police Department and president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Rosenblatt said that chiefs are spending more time than ever today on recruiting and retaining personnel. It is a crucial role in continuing law enforcement agencies' ability to serve their communities. In 1979, for example, females were underrepresented in law enforcement. Today, they comprise 12 to 13 percent of the nation's police officers. The percentages are similar for racial and ethnic groups. Rosenblatt stated that the IACP is dedicated to increasing the role of women in policing, and to increasing diversity in general, without ignoring white male recruits and officers. He cited the IACP's 1997 ad hoc panel on women in policing and the Diversity Coordinating Panel formed recently at the IACP by Viverette. The goal of the Diversity Coordinating Panel is to develop new strategies and proposals on diversity for law enforcement agencies.