Recruiting police officers for the Victoria Police Department — like many departments in rural parts of the country — has long been challenging for many reasons.
It is a tough job requiring hours of training and experience, many licenses and certifications and, above all, a dedication to civil service strong enough to face the seedy criminal element present in all communities.
Those hiring challenges are made worse by a national reckoning with law enforcement officers sparked in 2020 by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
Considering all this, it’d be easy for police departments to give way to recruiting shortages and hire with the sole intention to fill positions, ultimately de-emphasizing diversity.
Victoria Police Chief Roberto Arredondo Jr. recognizes the benefits of diversity, and he has made known his intention to foster a police force that reflects the community.
The City of Victoria has an estimated population of just over 65,500, according to figures from the most recent 2020 U.S. Census.
For the city, 37% of respondents reported to be white alone, with 7% reporting to be Black and 53% reporting to be Hispanic or Latino. According to census data, less than a tenth of a percent reported being Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaska Native, with 1.6% reporting to be Asian.
Going into the new year, the department employs 153 people in total, which breaks down to 132 officers and 31 civilian employees, according to city data.
In total, about 68%, or 104, of the employees are Caucasian. The second largest group is Hispanics, which comes out to about 30%, or 45, of employees. The department employs two African Americans and one Asian Pacific Islander, according to the data.
It is clear the department has a ways to go.
However, in a December interview with the Victoria Advocate, Arredondo said the Victoria Police Department is willing to go the distance to become more reflective of the community.
He said it won’t be an overnight change, but it remains necessary.
“I want anyone interested in being a police officer to be able to see themselves in our ranks … part of that is having people who look like you on the force. People from your community,” he said.
He believes a broader range of backgrounds among officers strengthens the department’s ability to build relationships and trust with the community, which he has made a priority for this first year as chief.
Such diversity in the department leadership ranks can help the department understand and address real-world issues and concerns as Victoria’s population becomes more diverse.
Part of increasing diversity means hiring more bilingual officers, who are better able to respond and communicate in certain situations. Arredondo said this could cause delays in calls of service where someone at the scene only speaks Spanish, as a bilingual officer will need to be called to the location.
For Victoria, the second most spoken language is Spanish, which is spoken by 26.23% of the population, according to a 2019 survey by the U.S. Census. Their report does not state how many respondents only speak Spanish, but Arredondo said it is not uncommon for police to encounter those in the field.
“They are part of our community, too, so being able to communicate with them effectively would only make us better at our jobs,” he said.
The department has already taken significant steps in recruiting efforts by upping salaries. Now that the department is more marketable and a compensation study is still underway, Arredondo said increasing diversity would remain a priority.
We hope he holds to it.
Victoria Advocate
