Police Seek New Recruits at Hennepin Tech Law Enforcement Career Fair
In an ever-changing landscape, Hennepin Technical College gave members of law enforcement and students an opportunity to network and connect this week.
The college held its annual Law Enforcement Officer Career Fair in its Public Safety and Police Science Center on Wednesday.
A variety of municipal, county, state and federal agencies were represented at the fair. Among the tables included officers from Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Plymouth and Maple Grove.
Most of those agencies are looking to recruit now. Brooklyn Center is one of them. The department currently has 21 officers on patrol.
Officer Francisco Martinez said the department is hoping to have a total of at least 25-30 to give its existing team relief. When fully staffed, the department would have 49 licensed full-time officers and 22 licensed full-and-part time staff.
“We have all the teams that everyone else has, we just don’t have the personnel, unfortunately,” Martinez said.
Martinez said the department is hoping to grow a diverse space that cares. The department recruits from all spaces.
“We are looking for people that want to help,” Martinez said. “We’ve got guys that have been veterans, to project managers, to teachers.”
Brooklyn Center is one of many agencies offering hiring and retention incentives for potential candidates.
Officers come in many forms, but they all start as students.
Jocelyn Bader is one Hennepin Tech student seeking something different from her original path. She was originally looking to be a teacher.
Now, she is networking on another track as she works toward her law enforcement certification.
Hennepin Tech student Jocelyn Bader speaks with the Maple Grove Police Dept. about potential job opportunities.
She spoke to a number of representatives, including some from Maple Grove. She told each of them that she wasn’t certain what she wanted to do yet, but was hoping the fair would point her in the right direction.
“I am kind of just getting an insight on what they are about,” Bader said. “There’s a lot of different departments that specialize in different things, so that is kind of what I am here to learn.”
For Bader and her classmates, the fair is another way to figure out their place in the path outside the classroom.
