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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Date: February 9, 2015 Item No.: 14.a Department Approval City Manager Approval Item Description: Approve Creation of a Police Cadet position within the Police Department B ACKGROUND 1 The City Staff have discussed the potential creation of a Police Cadet position which was 2 utilized by the Police Department in past years to recruit and retain quality candidates for 3 police officer. The Cadet position was removed from the Police Department’s annual budget 4 in 2003. 5 The Cadet position was formerly used to increase diversity within the Police Department by 6 attracting quality individuals enrolled in law enforcement education programs. The 7 Department has made purposeful connections with local colleges in an effort to recruit 8 members of minority communities, several members of the Department serve as mentors for 9 high school students interested in law enforcement and the Roseville Police Explorer program 10 has produced numerous police officers over its tenure. In 2013 the Department conducted a 11 mandatory second language requirement as part of a Community Service Officer (CSO) hiring 12 process. Candidates applying for the position were required to be proficient communicators in 13 one of the five most commonly spoken second languages in Roseville schools: Spanish, 14 Somali, Hmong, Thai and Karen. This process brought a high quality candidate to the 15 Department’s roster of employees. 16 With only three part-time CSOs, the Police Department is limited in its ability to attract and 17 retain multicultural law enforcement students. The Cadet position will allow the Department 18 to increase its part-time staff. Thus creating one more opportunity to hire employees reflective 19 of Roseville’s diverse community. 20 The Cadet position will be directed at multicultural applicants with preference given to those 21 with demonstrated experience interacting with and organizing diverse communities. The 22 Police Department expects the Cadet will represent a proactive approach to creating a safe and 23 livable community by forming positive relationships and fostering inclusive communication 24 between the Department and the increasing number of multicultural residents of Roseville. 25 In Minnesota, barring some experience and military exceptions, at least an associates degree 26 in law enforcement is mandatory in order to become a police officer. As such, some college 27 tuition reimbursement expenses are necessary to make this an acceptable program to recruit 28 potential police officer candidates. 29 Page 1 of 2