By Robert Zullo
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PITTSBURGH — Out of 40 recruits, the Pittsburgh Police academy class that started training in August included 10 black aspiring officers, the largest number in at least three years, according to statistics supplied by the city’s personnel office.
For a city that was sued in 2012 by the American Civil Liberties Union over an alleged “long-standing pattern and practice of racial discrimination ... against African-Americans in the screening and hiring of applicants” and a police bureau that brought on just 14 black officers between 2001 and 2012, out of 368 hired, it is a sign of progress.
“Obviously, they’re taking the concerns seriously, and the changes have begun to make a difference,” said City Councilman Ricky Burgess, a longtime advocate of reforming the police bureau.
The class of 35 recruits that started in February — by way of comparison — had one Asian male, one black male, one Hispanic male, one white female and 31 white males.
In a $1.6 million settlement announced in May, the city agreed to a three-year process to overhaul its police hiring.
That includes spending $250,000 on consultants; updating job requirements to include “integrity, dependability and cultural competence” creating a measurement plan for the selection process; and establishing a revised candidate rating process to “ensure a structured, objective and systematic evaluation that is reliable and valid.”
The process also calls for changes to the oral board review, background investigation and other facets of the selection system “designed to remedy adverse impact on African-American applicants.”
Leaetta Hough, an industrial organization psychologist who works on developing and implementing staffing and performance management systems, was brought in by the city and the ACLU after both sides agreed to suspend litigation in 2013 to conduct a six-month investigation.
Her report concluded the police bureau’s hiring system “has an adverse impact on African-American applicants” and recommended a lengthy list of changes to create a stream-lined, fairer and more objective process.
Mayor Bill Peduto took office in 2014 and brought in Chief Cameron McLay, believed to be the first-ever police chief hired from outside the bureau’s ranks. The mayor said the settlement required “a hard look in the mirror,” and he has committed to increasing diversity in all facets of city hiring.
“When you have a diversity of opinion and a diversity of people, that makes every organization function better,” said Sonya Toler, a spokeswoman for the city’s Public Safety Department.
“Time reveals, in all personnel endeavors, when you have that mix of people, ideas will be included that would not have been part of the conversation had those ideas be excluded.”
Tim McNulty, a spokesman for the mayor, said the city launched a new police recruitment website, created a “candidate/police officer mentor program,” increased use of social media, started emailing updates to applicants, and hosted recruiting events and information sessions in city neighborhoods.
The city has also offered child care and transportation options to recruitment and testing events, among other initiatives.
Still, in a city that is about 26 percent black, the bureau has a ways to go before its demographics reflect the population.
The police bureau remains about 85 percent white, 13 percent black, and just 1 percent each Asian and Hispanic.
“We’ve made great strides, but there is obviously still a long way to go before the makeup of our police bureau mirrors that of the city as a whole,” Mr. Peduto said.
Copyright 2015 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette