As candidate pool shrinks, this metro-east police chief plans to streamline recruitment

With dwindling interest in law enforcement as a career, the Public Safety Director in O’Fallon hopes city officials will help streamline the recruiting process and eliminate some inefficient steps.

The police department currently has 46 officers and is authorized for 50.

Because of cumbersome practices currently in place for the Board of Police and Fire Commission, the department does not have a strong pool of recruits to draw from to fill those open positions, said Police Chief Kirk Brueggeman, who also serves as public safety director.

“There is a shortage of qualified applicants nationwide and it is getting worse. We have been feeling it the past several years and it has not improved,” Brueggeman said. “We continue to struggle. We have fewer candidates, and the testing process is antiquated.”

Unruly protests, riots, and an increase in violence across the country is one reason.

“The unrest in the past couple years has made our profession less desirable,” he said. “It’s really concerning.”

O’Fallon shares an applicant list with Fairview Heights and Collinsville.

Brueggeman explained the steady decline is evident, from 100-240 applicants annually in the first two decades of the 21st century to low numbers since 2020. In 2020, they had 86 applicants, 62 in ’21 and 36 in ’22.

This year for O’Fallon, Brueggeman pointed out, of the 18 who passed the tests and requirements, nine were interviewed, and for the first time, they are not hiring any of them, he said, noting three accepted jobs elsewhere — in Madison County, Edwardsville, and Collinsville.

During the O’Fallon City Council’s public safety committee meeting Monday, Aug. 8, Brueggeman proposed changes to the code of ordinances, including eliminating separate lists for lateral entry and traditional applicants, combining them into one master list the police chief can use to fill vacancies, based on operational needs.

Another item is not restricting test eligibility to once a year but accepting applications year-round.

Sometimes, people had to wait six months to up-to-a-year to take the test.

“When the testing process takes a long time, people look for other opportunities and sometimes those opportunities are not in law enforcement,” he said.

Another factor is if they don’t have a high score on the written test, they can take it again, but then that is a further delay, too. So, they will go to a pass/fail designation.

“It’s not always about what you test. Some of the best officers are not always the ones that score high. They have other traits that are of value,” Brueggeman said.

Alderman Andrea Fohne, who previously worked in local law enforcement as a police dispatcher and records clerk, said people would give up because of the lengthy delays regarding testing.

“We lost some really good people because of that,” she said.

Besides the written test, there is a physical and a psychological test that must be passed as well.

Change in tattoo policy

Because the city is a home rule community, they can differ from state statutes and make changes to their own rules.

Brueggeman said he has talked this over with the five Board of Police and Fire Commissioners as well as city administrators and the Human Resources Department.

The city’s employee handbook has changed its tattoo policy so that those with tattoos on the arms are no longer in violation.

“People are very pleased with that,” he said, noting they still do not allow facial tattoos.

Lateral applicants are those who already work in law enforcement but are employed in other departments.

Military background, next steps

They would like to seek more people with military experience.

“We want qualified applicants, and we know we have a valuable resource in Scott Air Force Base, so we are actively trying to recruit military,” Brueggeman said.

Recently, the mayor made new appointments to city committees, and the aldermen now on public safety are Tom Vorce, chair; Eric Van Hook, vice-chair; and Fohne, Jessica Lotz and Ross Rosenberg.

The committee voted unanimously in favor of the proposal, so the amended ordinance will be on the agenda for the Monday, Aug. 15, council meeting. If it advances from first reading, the ordinance could be in effect on Tuesday, Sept. 6, after final approval.