Glendale’s police department looks to recruit diverse officers

Glendale police officials are working to fill more than two dozen vacant sworn and non-sworn positions, a number that’s expected to increase next year with impending retirements.

One of the largest staffing voids lies in emergency communications, where there are seven dispatcher vacancies, leaving current employees to log dozens of hours of overtime each month.

“We don’t have the option not to be here — we’re an essential function,” said Glendale Police dispatcher Jason Cox.

In one recent 24-hour period, his team responded to 366 calls for service. The calls may include anything from someone complaining about a car blocking their driveway to having to convince someone holding a gun to put the weapon down, he said.

“It’s exciting. It’s different every day — you don’t know when you sit down what you’re going to get,” said Glendale Police dispatcher Michelle Lewis.

In terms of sworn personnel, there are 182 police officers on the force, which leaves 11 officer positions open. Vacancies are expected to rise next year as 37 police officers will be eligible to retire, said Glendale Police Chief Robert Castro.

Even so, the department will be closer to fully staffed by the end of this year than it’s been in five years, as it lost 30 sworn and 42 non-sworn positions during the recession, Castro said.

When recruiting, police officials are looking for diverse candidates with dual-language skills who live in the area in an effort to build a police force that better represents the diversity of the community it serves.

Currently, there are 69 Hispanic police officers on the force, as well as 26 Armenians, nine Koreans and five African Americans, Castro said. Meanwhile, 25 officers are women.

Finding qualified applicants can be a challenge, Castro said, as the department weeds out candidates with histories of mishandling finances or using narcotics, as well as those with an unreliable driving history. On average, for every 100 applications the agency receives, one candidate fits the bill, Castro said.

Glendale is accepting police officer recruit applications until Dec. 11, according to Glendale police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek