To increase trust and improve communication, police departments must reflect the communities they serve. To do this, they need to attract and recruit great candidates from diverse backgrounds. This session will provide practical tips on how behavioral science can be used to improve recruitment, informed by findings from randomized controlled trials conducted with police forces across the US and UK. In these trials, we used behavioral interventions - often simple tweaks to existing communications - to successfully attract diverse candidates and reduce their dropout rate from the recruitment process. At the end of this session, we will invite attendees to apply what they learned by brainstorming new approaches to their recruitment processes.

Guidelines and recommendations have been made as it relates to challenges in hiring, such as advancing diversity and inclusiveness, as well as changing standards on tattoos. Yet, little has been published on how to pay for qualified candidates who share the values and vision of the community and the department. The opening of the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) grant solicitation is on hold due to the issuance of a nationwide injunction by a U.S. District Court . CHP remains on hold until further notice. To offer competitive wages while addressing the rising costs of employee benefits, departments can seek out non-traditional grant programs. This session will focus on Grants 101 and alternative grant funding opportunities to address this crisis.