West Central Reporter

The struggle to hire minority officers continues in Central Illinois amid conversations of police brutality and African Americans.

According to WAND-TV, after the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis Police custody, civil unrest and attention on the lack of African-American police officers sparked to new heights. In Central Illinois specifically, minority police officers are hard to find. 

“It is very difficult. That was my goal when I became chief in 2014,” Decatur Police Chief Jim Getz said. 

Decatur has 70,746 locals and while Blacks make up 20.5% of the population, they are 3.4% of the 145 police officers on the force.

"I think it is important to match the demographics of our community. We want to get in line with our demographics and I think that helps the future of law enforcement in the African-American community,” Getz said. “We don't control what neighborhoods we go into. It is based on a call from a citizen. Police are going into the neighborhood and sometimes arresting mom and dad as it comes with the job, but little kids see that and think cops are the bad guys."

Getz added that given the reputation police officers currently have in minority communities, some potential officers are concerned about how their peers could see them if they join the police force. He said one way to improve the image of police officers is to become a part of the solution and take the steps to join the force. 

Decatur isn’t the only area that has a low number of Black police officers in the community. When joined with Danville, Urbana Champagne, and Springfield, those communities have 21.88% minority population, while minority officers are 7.9% of officers. Springfield has the highest percentage as 22 of its 241 officers are Black.

"You want your PD to represent your community and to have that connection with them and here in Springfield, we are doing a good job at that,” Lt. Sara Pickford, who helps recruit Springfield police, said.