NEW BLUE, AN INCUBATOR FOR FORWARD-THINKING POLICE OFFICERS, OFFERS SOLUTIONS TO POLICE RECRUITMENT CRISIS AT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONVENING

New Blue Cofounder/ Teach For America VP Andy Saunders Joined a Panel of Subject Matter Experts to Discuss Recruitment, Retention and Generation Z

WICHITA, Kan., April 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bureau of Justice Assistance convened top practitioners in the policing field, academics, and other stakeholders on April 16-17  at Wichita State University for the Criminal Justice Workforce of the Future Convening. Building on BJA's Recruitment & Retention roundtable last year, the convening aimed to address an assessment of workforce and career pipelines in criminal justice, and create new strategies for recruitment and retention.

Recruitment and retention in policing has been an increasingly difficult task in recent years, with public perception of policing impacting interest in the profession, coupled with the inherent strains of the job itself. Traditional operating standards within a police department do not align with the values and ideals of the incoming generation of workers.

Addressing this issue head-on, BJA Director Karhlton Moore facilitated a panel on Redefining Criminal Justice Workforces and Roles; with an Emphasis on Culture, Inclusion, and Access to Justice. Panelists New Blue Co-founder and CEO/ Teach For America Vice President of Early Talent Andy Saunders, Chief Sonia Quinones (Ret.), Deputy Director of the DOJ Office for Access to Justice Christina Smith, and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice/Former Amazon Global Chief Diversity Equity Inclusion Officer Marcia Thompson discussed the importance of building an organizational culture that supports equity, culture change, and improved recruitment and retention practices.

"Generation Z is entering the workforce with a completely different mindset than generations past," said Saunders, a former police officer who co-founded New Blue with Detective Brittany Nestor in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder to address police-community trust. "In order to recruit the next generation, police departments will have to align their culture with the values of Gen Z- values of mental health, flexibility, diversity and skill development. Either Gen Z can change or police departments can change- we have to think about what's in our locus of control."

While many police departments may be resistant to change, Thompson said we must encourage the "latitude to create a new role – beginning with a cultural assessment: how do people feel at work? How do we change things? Who do we hire? Who do we elevate?" Saunders added, "Mental health, schedule flexibility, latticed career moves – these are things that are good for all of us. Previous generations put up with it. Gen Z is not going to."

To that end, New Blue recently announced their cross-departmental Recruitment Task Force for police recruiters, in partnership with the 30x30 Initiative. The Task Force will challenge police recruiters to align their department's practices, culture, and operations with the values and perspectives of the newest generation of workers and existing top talent —a critical step in modernizing the profession and addressing recruitment challenges.

For more information, contact Kristin Daley at [email protected] or 781-443-2027

New Blue is an incubator for forward-thinking police to collaborate with their communities, developing solutions that build trust through policy and practice.

SOURCE New Blue