November 17, 2024 • 31 mins
Director Patillo and Sargent Wilson discuss their passion for the city and the police Department. They detail pay improvements and the many ways citizens can be involved in both sworn and civilian positions. they also highlight 2 upcoming hiring events.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Light Up to D, a focus on what's
happening in our community from the people who make it happen.
Here's your host, iHeartMedia Detroit Market President Colleen Grath.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning and welcome to another episode of Light Up
the D. I'm your host, Colleen Grant, Thanks for joining
me today. We have some great guest today. I have
two guests. One is Katrina Pattillo. She is the director
of the Detroit Police Department's Human Resource Bureau and has
served as the director since March of twenty twenty one.
Prior to coming to the Detroit Police Department, she served
for twenty four years in the United States Marine Corps.
(00:35):
Thank you for that, Director Patillo, I appreciate that very much,
and is a retired lieutenant colonel. Joining us also today
is Sergeant Tamorrow Wilson. Sergeant Wilson was born and raised
in Detroit and started at the Detroit Police Academy in
two thousand and nine. She's been with the department for
fifteen years and started working at police Recruiting in twenty twenty.
(00:57):
She loves every minute of it. We can't wait to
find out why everything going on the Detroit Police Department.
The websites are Joineddetroit's finest dot org if you're looking
for more information on what we're discussing today and DETROITMI
dot gov. Ford's last jobs, which we'll cover again at
the end of this conversation. So if you like what
we're talking about, you have a way to get there
(01:18):
quickly to find out more information. So why don't we
start with you, Sergeant Wilson. Why did you join the
Detroit Police Department. There are larger agencies, let's say Chicago, Atlanta,
or even other local agencies, Warren Lavonna, Oakland County. Why
specifically Detroit? Why was that the place for you?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
So, as you mentioned, I was born and raised in Detroit,
so really for me, there wasn't any other place for
me to go. I love the city, I love my community,
I love the people in my community, and growing up
I knew that I wanted to be in a position
to help people in a really directing and this seemed
(02:01):
like the best way to do it. And working for
the department, I ganged so much more. Like it's not
just helping people, you know, I filled that bucket, but
also I built so many relationships with the community and
even with police officers, like we're not just coworkers, we're family.
So I gained this whole new experience that I didn't
(02:22):
even know was there, you know, just looking to help people,
and now here I am fifteen years later.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So I think it's really interesting that the words help people,
you know, you repeated those multiple times. When we think
of a police officer, we think of like the fundamental
roles of things that we know about a police officer.
Give us an idea of when you say help people,
Like what are the kinds of things that you think
today I helped someone, What might some of the examples
of some of those things be.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
So that I'm glad you ast that. So what's funny
is that when people think of police officers they think
about like Law and Order CSI and those type of shows,
when really every day policing looks more like, Hey, I
may get a police run to a house, and Hey,
this mom may have been having some trouble with her
teenage daughter and she just wants us to talk to her,
(03:11):
and we talk to her and she understands like, Okay,
maybe I am going in the wrong direction, or it
may just be hey, we're driving up the street, on
routine patrol and we see an elderly lady, you know,
pulling a basket of groceries, and we say, hey, do
you need some help, you know, and we help her
take her groceries home.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
It's really that is what most of our day looks like,
you know. And when I say help, I wasn't necessarily
thinking that when I started, But that has been a
large part of my career, just genuinely helping people in
these situations where you know, I may not have been
able to do just you know, any other job.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, So that's that must be really rewarding for you.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
It is very rewarding. It is very rewarding. That is
not to say that we don't have challenges. You know,
we do half times where I may like help someone
in you know, more more of a police capacity, where
a child may be missing or a runaway or something
like that, and being able to let that pier know, like, hey,
we found her, she was around the corner, she was
(04:14):
at her frist house or whatever. That too is rewarding,
but you know, just in a different way.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah. But I think you bring up a good point
that helping people can take a lot of different forms.
That can be a widespread spectrum of mild to very
serious nature. But the point is you feel like what
you're doing is serving the community and really helping them
with making their lives better.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And where have you worked within the department? You know,
you talked about that you have been with the department
for fifteen years. In what roles have you have you served?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
So like, I started in two thousand and nine and
from there I worked at the twelve Precinct for a
large majority of my career, and from there, once I
was promoted, I moved to the fourth Precinct, which is
in Southwest Detroit. Excellent food over there, and then from
there I came here to police recruiting and I've been
here ever since.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
That's great, you know, just anecdotally, we had people on
from Southwest to Trade Business Association, and our conversation did
surround food quite a bit. They do have good food.
They have really good food in that part of the community.
Let's let's move on to you, Director Patillo. How many
sworn and non sworn civilian employees are currently employed.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
At the DPD so total, so total, we have three
thousand and three and eighty Oh wow, we have about
twenty six a little over twenty six hundred sworn officers
and about seven hundred and fifty nine non sworn civilian employees.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I never would have guessed so many people. Wow, it's
a huge operation. How many vacancies are you looking to
fill or how many applicants do you want to hire?
How many people are we talking about that you want
to bring into the to the organization.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
So we want to bring in approximate about one hundred
another one hundred police officers and to over sixty civilian,
non non sworn positions.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Okay, And so if you're listening and you're thinking, wow,
I'm looking for something that serves the community, and as
Sergeant Wilson said, you want to help people, then this
might this might just be for you. Let's keep going here.
What are the minimum qualifications to enter the academy and
what about the specifically, what about the non sworn civilian
positions that are available? Can you tell us a little
bit about both those different ways to get employed.
Speaker 5 (06:28):
Yes, So for the not for the sworn, you have
to be a minimum age of eighteen, high school diploma
or GD no felony convictions possessed, valid Driver's license twenty
twenty vision or correctable.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Then for the non sworn we do have two positions.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
That are applicable for returning citizens and as garage attendants
and vehicle operators, but you need a CDL for the
vehicle operator.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Which is tote of drivers.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
We have social worker positions which you would need a
master's degree with the applicable license. And then we have
client analysts, and we would like for them and have
a degree, but sometimes equivalent of experience might work. Saying
other requirements as if the sworn side minimum age at eighteen,
there's no max age for either one of those positions.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Oh see, that's good to know. I don't know if
anybody would realize that there isn't a max age. That's
great information. Hey, you had you had been with You've
been the director since March twenty twenty one, right, yes,
And how did you how did you end up with
this role? How did you get into the Detroit Police
Department and specifically human resources department.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
So my military career is human resources and operations. And
as you stayed right in twenty four years and during COVID,
I retired from from the military.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
And when this position became available.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
It was a great opportunity when they selected me, knowing
one that my background is human resources and operations, so
I thought it was a great fit to be able
to take one uniform off after serving the country and
be able to give back to the city city of Detroit,
which I am from Detroit basically, and to give back
and it's rewarding. My mother was a city employee, my
brother was a city employee.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
I have family that is on the police department. So
to be able to.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
Leave the Marine Corps and then to come back here
and still have assist of camaraderie, a sense of teamwork,
to feel like you're family oriented, to feel like you
are still helping, you're still serving, and you're making an
impact on the community. So that is basically how I
got involved, and it's been great every since.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
That you love what you do, it sounds like and it's.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
An honor to be back here.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
It's an honor to be able to make a contribution
into something as larger than yourself.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah. I love that you both were born and raised
in Detroit and are here helping to traders and serving
our community and help. I mean, Director Patila, You're helping
people with employment, which is wonderful. And Sergeant Wilson, you're
keeping our community safe and well and preventing problems and
solving problems. You're both doing it for the city of Detroit.
(08:59):
It's just it's one orful to be speaking with you
today and for the things that you're doing. Thank you
for that.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
Thank you, Thank yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
So what kind of benefits does the department offer?
Speaker 4 (09:10):
So I can start and then sergeant basically jump in
if you want.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
But on the sworn side, we have competitive pay and
you'll pay increases four percent. They will max out at
the highest salary of four years. The secondary employment, they
can work up to thirty two additional hours, logevity pay pay,
vacation time, holiday pay, uniforms, great program with the Clever University,
(09:34):
you can obtain your bachelor's or your master's degree. We
also wow, we have tuition and reimbursement thousand dollars for
these sworn medical Bentel medical benefits, general benefits vision. On
the civilian side, in addition to some of those, you
also have barrit increases. You have an annual cost of
(09:54):
living increase that you receive city employee discounts. So so
disguise the limit here.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Wow, that's great and I you know, you mentioned so
many things related to pay, but you mentioned education too. Yes,
can you stop down and repeat that part again, because
I think that's really that's exciting that you know you
also help people expand their educational opportunities too.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
So back in August of twenty twenty two, we established
a partnership with Cleary University, and I would say that
we're probably one of the largest educated force. Since we
started that program with them, we've graduated over six hundred
and eighteen of our members have received master's degrees and
approximate one hundred and sixty five have received master's degrees.
And when we originally started the program, it was only
(10:37):
open onto the police officers, but since then we have
opened it up to families to actually our civilian employees
as well.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
So it's all patent.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
They go once a week or they can take some
of the courses that are online, and so even if
you've had previous college experience, they'll take a look at
your transcript and meet to you where you are to
see what you need to do to continue on the program.
We have partners ships with Mike Ellie School of Business
for sworn and some of the senior.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
Leadership leaders here.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
And then we also had a program with the Cleary University, uh,
the seniors in the Emerging Leadership program where they received
a certificate in leadership. But it was also an opportunity
to be able to mentor so our senior staff were
mentoring our junior staff.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Wow, that's really amazing. And so many people that you've
helped get either their bachelor's degree or their master's degree too,
and that it's open to other family members too. Is
such a massive benefit. Yes, that's great.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
And Sergeant Wilson, what would you say, uh, what kind
of benefits the department offers? I mean, you probably have
a different take on that. Even so, No, the record, she.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Named a lot of them, like bost of the ones
that we you know that we speak of, but there
are a few that some people may not be totally
aware of. As far as our department goes, where it's
like we are for sure in my experience, you got
to be one of those one of the most inclusive
departments that I've you know, from people I've talked to
(12:03):
that work at other departments in other states, one of
the most inclusive departments in the nation. I believe we've
piloted I could be wrong, but I believe we did
pilot having an LGBTQ liaison representative for the department. We are.
We the chief Chief Light has been really big on
(12:25):
highlighting mental health and things of that, you know, sort
of having things in play for officers. And even now
there's a new unit that was just developed to kind
of help officers with their work life balance. So you know,
those are things that people really don't talk about a lot,
but are absolutely necessary for not only a person who
(12:48):
works in a police officer capacity to succeed, or just
you know, just anybody just to be able to, you know,
know that someone is there to support them outside of
being a police officer.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
You know, I think what you said when you talk
about inclusivity and resource and mental health resources and work
life balance, all those things add up to a really
important culture. What is the Detroit Police Department culture to you?
And how do you guys maintain that culture as the
DPD grows? Because that's like, if that's it sounds like
a defining difference between you and other organizations, I'll go.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
First director real fest and because it be sure, so
let me so. One of our hiring orientations that we
had Chief why King. Now he speaks at everyone usually
and he says something that I have been trying to
wrap my mind around, figuring out how to say. And
(13:44):
what he said was, there's something about being a Detroit
police officer that you cannot quantify, like it is something
that you have to experience to know it. Because and
I'll tell you, we've had people who left and if
you ask ten people, nine of them will say the
(14:04):
same thing. They will say, I couldn't be myself. It
didn't feel like family. I felt like I just I
just wasn't comfortable. And they come back and they're like,
it's a it's a breath of fresh air. And more
times than I can remember they have said, I feel
like I'm back at home. These are totally different people,
(14:26):
never spoke, never had any type of conversation, same thing
coming out their mouth every single time. And that is
our culture.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
It's us.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
We're a family, and I think that's one thing that
separates us from everybody else, is that we are like
you come your family and then you.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Know it, guys take care of each other. Sounds like love.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Add on to that some man the things that I
would say, and I'm a civilian employee, but even having
that military background, certain things that I would say.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Yes, it is a family and they genuinely care.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
Like remember on this department, they truly truly care for
one another.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
It's a sense of we know that the community supports
us as well as we support the community. We focus
on training, just like Sergeant Wilson said, we also focus
on well being, you know, ensuring that we take care
of each other, ensuring that not just physical and spiritual,
but also mental as well. And mentorship. We believe in
providing mentorship. We know that someone aspires to be in
(15:24):
a position of where we are and we we've been there,
We've done that, and so we can help them because
we understand that the generation behind us are going to
be our future leaders. And then and then just basically
being able to recognize all the great things that we do.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I love that and the mentorship is super important. What
are some of the non sworn civilian positions, Director Patillo,
you know, you you were mentioning yourself. What are some
of the ones that somebody might be interested in?
Speaker 5 (15:54):
So we have crime analysts, dispatch, you know, they're the
first line of defense to actually dispatching a police officer
to a sne We have virtual patrol. We have traffic
control direct in the traffic and I know a lot
of times to see downtown there are those are traffic
control officers. There's a civilian employees out there directing the traffic.
We have intel specialists here. We have if you're interested
(16:16):
in administration, from office administration to unit resources to being
a manager in HR one day to TUK drivers. Mental
health coordinators are that you know, like you said, we've
stood up a new unit, so we're focused on mental
health and so those are some of the largest areas
that we're looking at. We have medical case managers here,
so there's a plenty of opportunities here at DPD. I mean,
(16:37):
we even had some legal positions as well.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
It sounds like there's a wide variety of needs. It
sounds like and when you think about those roles that
you need to fill, why is it important that these
get filled? When you look at the whole spectrum of
the number of people that you have and what they
all do to keep things working well for the city.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
So I would say that everyone has a role to
play and everyone's role is and not all of our
police officers can do some of the jobs.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
That we're doing because they need to focus.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
On protecting and serving the community, policing the neighborhoods, policing
being out there, and so we have created some other
positions that we know that civilian employees can do, and
they can. You know, and even if you don't want
to be a police officer, you can make a great
impact by doing one of those careers and being still
in law enforcement. You can still solve crime, but maybe
not be a police officer because you're a crime analyst.
(17:27):
You're dissecting what's going on the problems. You were doing
Project Greenlight, you're monitoring the businesses and things like that.
So it's an opportunity to fill the civilian positions so
our sworn officers.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Can do what they need to do in the community.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
So somebody may be listening, they're like, this sounds interesting
to me. I you know, I probably should see what
kind of jobs are available. She's mentioned a couple different
things that could fit my background. Well, let's repeat that
website for everybody again. The websites where they might be
able to find these opportunities.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
The website is Wwwjoindetroy's finance dot org. That is for
our swarm position and then for our non swarm position
is www dot Detroit, MI dot gov forward slash jobs.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Right, So diversity is crucial. What steps do you take
to ensure diversity at the DPD?
Speaker 5 (18:13):
So one of the things the Chief White did when
he first came back to Detroit Police Department is he
hired a diversity, equity and inclusion manager.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
And I don't know if other law.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Enforcement officers can say that, but I can tell you
that that has been great having a manager here who
focuses just on DEI.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
It helps us with recruiting, it helps us with training.
She goes in.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Mary Engleman is our diversity Equity Inclusion manager, and she
trains at our academy. She trains our leaders, and she
also can help us with Detroit Police Department is all cultures,
and so our deparper department needs to be reflective of
what our community is. And so we can take a
look at the demographics and see how we're doing, how
(18:54):
is our class academy classes doing, how are we doing
with our hiring and things like that, And so she's
able to help us in that retrospect.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
You just brought up a really good point. I mean,
your workforce needs to represent all the people that you serve,
and so the diversity of the whole Detroit metro area
is very diverse, and so keeping that mirroring the communities
that you serve is really important. Yes, you bring these
people in and you know, they get a wonderful career
(19:22):
with a DPD and they're thinking, hey, I would love
to have some kind of growth plan and development plan
in my career. Can you describe programs that you've initiated
initiated that support employee growth and development so they can
see like a career path with you.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
Yeah, so we have on the non sport side, we
do have some career opportunities where there are some senior positions,
meaning they may have like nine to one one dispatch.
Maybe there's some opportunities to be a senior nine one
one dispatch and so you know, if you've been on
the job for a certain amount of years, the leadership
could you know, if they have a vacancy, they could
take a look at what have you done, you know
(20:00):
in your primary role and would you make a great leader.
And so some of those educational programs that I mentioned,
you know where we have the mentorship program where we
have the Clear University, or the Senior and Emergent Leaders program,
the uh you know, uh different culture programs that we've
had my illeg School of Business program that we've had
which has taught you to be critical and also to
(20:23):
be able to solve problems. They have an opportunity to
observe you. So records and ident is another one of
those positions. So we have some positions that are already
to where you can uh up mobility. So if you're
in an administration human resources, maybe you start out as
an office administration or maybe an office assistant. Well, the
next role may be for an employee service consultant, you know,
to be able to now, okay, take it a step further.
(20:45):
Instead of just doing you know, correspondence and you know,
scheduling and things like that.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Tracking, maybe you take a look at what does it take.
Speaker 5 (20:53):
To be able to come on board to be part
of the HR community hiring, you know, grievances, labor relations,
being part of career fairs and things like that.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Partnerships, that's great. Any senior emergent leaders, can you give
a little more description on that.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
Yeah, so that was we did that with Clear University.
Our first co wort was last year. We took a
look at there was probably about thirty forty students and
we partnered civilian and police officers and we took the
senior leadership of both of those and paired them up
with individuals on the junior side of it, meaning the
(21:32):
lower ranking. We took classes in leadership, We took class
and what is trust? What is organizational climate? What is
organizational culture? How do you treat each other with respect
and value? Solving problems? How do you engage and communicate effectively?
How do you get along together? So those are some
(21:52):
of the things that we did case studies and just
basically bringing each other together.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
You also had mentorship.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Opportunity where you would have to meet one on one,
go over some of your goals, go over some of
your objectives.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Where would you like.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
To see yourselves in you know, here's down the line,
and how could we as a department help.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
That's great and that is that is indeed a form
of mentorship as well. That's fantastic, I'm sure for everybody
who participated. Hey, what do you look for when you're
recruiting a candidate. If somebody's listening and they're like, huh,
I wonder if I'm a good candidate, sworn a non
sworn civilian, what are you look what are you looking for?
Speaker 3 (22:25):
So I would say, on a sworn side, we definitely
need someone who would love interacting with the community, who
loves the community, who is resilient, who works well with others,
who and of course meets our minimum qualifications. We have
to consider or hey, you guys, if you're thinking about it,
(22:45):
you have to consider that you will be talking to
people every day, every single day, whether it's on the
phone or in person. You know, you'll be interacting with
dispatch operators. So this is definitely people's job. So you
know you'll get people in all day and that is
(23:07):
that is a major factor. Being able to get along,
you know.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yeah, that's a super important quality. What about you, Director Patillo.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
Some of the things that I would look for passion
for serving because this is this is more than just
a job. It's a career and you're making an impact
into someone's life. Also, commitment, you know, it's a twenty
four to seven day job. Integrity, Your integrity is utmost
(23:39):
important treating individuals fair, treating them with respect, valuing people.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Customer service is very keen. Yeah, that's a that's a
great way to put it. It is a lot of
customer service, even though it's our community. You're really, uh,
you really are providing services to to keep the community safe.
And well, what are what are some of the benefits
to seeking a sworn career and non source non sworn
(24:09):
career at the Detroit Police Department.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
I would say for the sworn side, see seeking a
career with us, we have so many different things that
you can do. We have over one hundred units, okay,
and some of those units are really cool. So we
have mounted, we have knine, we have the dive team,
we have the bomb squad, we have crime intel, we
(24:36):
have a unit that investigates blind So you know what
I what I say is that there is literally something
for everyone, and those things, once you do them, you
could you can move on and do something else. This
career could prepare you. Let's say, once you retire, you
can move on and do something much grander with all
(24:58):
the training and experience that you've gained over your twenty
to twenty five years, and even while you're here, just
using your experience from whatever different units that you may
have worked in that could get you ready for you know,
promotions and those type of things.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
I mean, you've you've had some really interesting different departments
and you said over one hundred departments.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Yes, over one hundred different units. You take something from
every single unit that you were working in. We are
a department that encourages growth and development. Like Director mentioned education,
we do promotional exams. You know, with only a couple
of years, and if you have your bachelors you could
(25:44):
take the test to be promoted. I don't think that's
happening many other places. If you, you know, you have
three five years on the job, you can be a
sergeant here in Detroit. You can't do that anywhere else.
I'm almost certain of it. So you know, we have
we have surplus of opportunity for anyone who what's it?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
What about you, Director Patilla, What are the benefits to
seeking a nonswar career at the DPDA.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
So I've seen this in some of our individuals. They
maybe were fearful of being a police officer, and so
they came over to the nonsworn side and they worked
as a virtual patrol or client analyst or nine to
one one dispatch for about a year or so and
then they decided, oh my god, I can do this.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
I love it. And being on the non sworn side allowed.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
Them an opportunity to be able to explore the job,
to be able to see it, to see how we work,
to see how we interact as sworn and as non sworn,
and gave them an opportunity to come out to some
of our events, maybe participating in some of our programs,
to say I can't do this, you know, and this
is what I want to do.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
So you have the two exciting events coming up in November.
Everybody should know about too, in case they're like, hey,
whether I'm sworn or not sworn, there may be something
for me here. What do you eventually have coming up?
Share the details?
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Oh my goodness, yes, I'm so excited. So November fourteenth,
we have our DPD great program. Our field recruiters came
up with it. They were super geeked when they came
up with it because it was such a great idea. So,
like director kind of mentioned, there are some people who
are a little timid or discouraged about, you know, signing
(27:21):
up to be a police officer. But they still have questions,
they're still interested, So what do you do? You know
a lot of people stop. So my field recruiters, they
saw this as an opportunity to create this program, and
what it is is it's a save space to come
and just ask questions, you can apply. We actually have
(27:42):
resources available for some individuals who may have been discouraged
in the past from like maybe they had like some
hiccups with traffic or something like that. So we'll have
resources available there for them for them to talk to
people and just see, you know, their eligibility and what
do they need to do from here. Also, well, we
(28:03):
have some of our specialized units come out, so you know,
they may have heard about all the units that we have,
but they never have seen them. So we'll have those
guys there and they can talk to them, check out
some of their cool equipment, and just really kind of
chat it up with police officers in the space that
most people really don't have the opportunity to. So that's it.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
That's November fourteenth, Yes, that's November fourteenth. Where is that.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
That's a Triumph Church the East campus.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Right, Yeah, Triumph Church, East Campus, November fourteenth, there's our
first event. What's the second one?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Yeah, that's all the second of it. Oh you do
you want to want to take it? Director?
Speaker 5 (28:43):
So yes, So on Saturday, November the sixteenth, we're going
to be doing a one day hiring fair where you
can complete.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
Most of the process in one day. So what does
that mean for anyone who's looking to become a police officer.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
We will give you free m coloded screening, free physical
agility test, free written test, opportunity to complete the oral board,
psychological screening if you make it all the way all
the way to that part. So something that will normally
take you three weeks to a month to get done,
you can complete most of that process and one day
you can also come in and complete an application.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
You can talk to the.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
Background in background investigators that we have and some of
the representatives we're going to have across the department. And
then also on the nonsborn side, we're going to be
accepting on site applications. We will help you fill out
your applications. We can take a look at your resumes
if you have those as well.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
And that date again is that date.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
Is going to be Saturday, except Saturday November sixteenth from
seven am to five pm. The address is going to
be sixty to fifty Linwood at our training Center.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Okay, that is at the training center, So make sure
that you go to the right location for the November sixteenth.
Very like a rapid version event, right, Yes, that's great. Well.
I love first of all how passionate you guys are
about what you do with regard to serving the community.
And second of all, the pride that you have in
the Detroit Police Department and the kind of unique culture
that you've created there, and how important it is to
(30:07):
be inclusive in the diversity that you have. It just
speaks again to the really coolness of Detroit that we
also have a really awesome Detroit Police Department and that
you guys want to keep that going with the people
that you're hiring. There are over one hundred positions available
that are sworn and non sworn. You can just go
to either join Detroit's Finest dot org that's joined Detroit's
(30:29):
Finest dot org or for the non sworn positions Detroit
ami dot gov forward slash jobs. And then there are
the events that are taking place on both November fourteenth
at Triumph Church. The East Campus and November sixteenth over
on Linnwood. Thank you guys so much for joining us today.
Today we've been blessed by the presence of Director Katrina Pattillo,
(30:54):
who is with the Human Resources Bureau, and also Sergeant
Tamar Wilson, who is with the police Recruiting Unit. Thank
you both for joining us today. We really appreciate the
service that you're providing to the community and hope you
have super, super successful recruitment recruitment events in the future.
Thanks so much for being with us.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Thank you for the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
This has been light up the d a community a
fairs program from iHeartMedia Detroit. If your organization would like
to get on the program, email Colleen Grant at iHeartMedia
dot com. Here are all episodes on this station's podcast page.
Welcome to Light Up to D, a focus on what's
happening in our community from the people who make it happen.
Here's your host, iHeartMedia Detroit Market President Colleen Grath.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning and welcome to another episode of Light Up
the D. I'm your host, Colleen Grant, Thanks for joining
me today. We have some great guest today. I have
two guests. One is Katrina Pattillo. She is the director
of the Detroit Police Department's Human Resource Bureau and has
served as the director since March of twenty twenty one.
Prior to coming to the Detroit Police Department, she served
for twenty four years in the United States Marine Corps.
(00:35):
Thank you for that, Director Patillo, I appreciate that very much,
and is a retired lieutenant colonel. Joining us also today
is Sergeant Tamorrow Wilson. Sergeant Wilson was born and raised
in Detroit and started at the Detroit Police Academy in
two thousand and nine. She's been with the department for
fifteen years and started working at police Recruiting in twenty twenty.
(00:57):
She loves every minute of it. We can't wait to
find out why everything going on the Detroit Police Department.
The websites are Joineddetroit's finest dot org if you're looking
for more information on what we're discussing today and DETROITMI
dot gov. Ford's last jobs, which we'll cover again at
the end of this conversation. So if you like what
we're talking about, you have a way to get there
(01:18):
quickly to find out more information. So why don't we
start with you, Sergeant Wilson. Why did you join the
Detroit Police Department. There are larger agencies, let's say Chicago, Atlanta,
or even other local agencies, Warren Lavonna, Oakland County. Why
specifically Detroit? Why was that the place for you?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
So, as you mentioned, I was born and raised in Detroit,
so really for me, there wasn't any other place for
me to go. I love the city, I love my community,
I love the people in my community, and growing up
I knew that I wanted to be in a position
to help people in a really directing and this seemed
(02:01):
like the best way to do it. And working for
the department, I ganged so much more. Like it's not
just helping people, you know, I filled that bucket, but
also I built so many relationships with the community and
even with police officers, like we're not just coworkers, we're family.
So I gained this whole new experience that I didn't
(02:22):
even know was there, you know, just looking to help people,
and now here I am fifteen years later.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So I think it's really interesting that the words help people,
you know, you repeated those multiple times. When we think
of a police officer, we think of like the fundamental
roles of things that we know about a police officer.
Give us an idea of when you say help people,
Like what are the kinds of things that you think
today I helped someone, What might some of the examples
of some of those things be.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
So that I'm glad you ast that. So what's funny
is that when people think of police officers they think
about like Law and Order CSI and those type of shows,
when really every day policing looks more like, Hey, I
may get a police run to a house, and Hey,
this mom may have been having some trouble with her
teenage daughter and she just wants us to talk to her,
(03:11):
and we talk to her and she understands like, Okay,
maybe I am going in the wrong direction, or it
may just be hey, we're driving up the street, on
routine patrol and we see an elderly lady, you know,
pulling a basket of groceries, and we say, hey, do
you need some help, you know, and we help her
take her groceries home.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
It's really that is what most of our day looks like,
you know. And when I say help, I wasn't necessarily
thinking that when I started, But that has been a
large part of my career, just genuinely helping people in
these situations where you know, I may not have been
able to do just you know, any other job.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah, So that's that must be really rewarding for you.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
It is very rewarding. It is very rewarding. That is
not to say that we don't have challenges. You know,
we do half times where I may like help someone
in you know, more more of a police capacity, where
a child may be missing or a runaway or something
like that, and being able to let that pier know, like, hey,
we found her, she was around the corner, she was
(04:14):
at her frist house or whatever. That too is rewarding,
but you know, just in a different way.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah. But I think you bring up a good point
that helping people can take a lot of different forms.
That can be a widespread spectrum of mild to very
serious nature. But the point is you feel like what
you're doing is serving the community and really helping them
with making their lives better.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And where have you worked within the department? You know,
you talked about that you have been with the department
for fifteen years. In what roles have you have you served?
Speaker 3 (04:48):
So like, I started in two thousand and nine and
from there I worked at the twelve Precinct for a
large majority of my career, and from there, once I
was promoted, I moved to the fourth Precinct, which is
in Southwest Detroit. Excellent food over there, and then from
there I came here to police recruiting and I've been
here ever since.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
That's great, you know, just anecdotally, we had people on
from Southwest to Trade Business Association, and our conversation did
surround food quite a bit. They do have good food.
They have really good food in that part of the community.
Let's let's move on to you, Director Patillo. How many
sworn and non sworn civilian employees are currently employed.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
At the DPD so total, so total, we have three
thousand and three and eighty Oh wow, we have about
twenty six a little over twenty six hundred sworn officers
and about seven hundred and fifty nine non sworn civilian employees.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I never would have guessed so many people. Wow, it's
a huge operation. How many vacancies are you looking to
fill or how many applicants do you want to hire?
How many people are we talking about that you want
to bring into the to the organization.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
So we want to bring in approximate about one hundred
another one hundred police officers and to over sixty civilian,
non non sworn positions.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Okay, And so if you're listening and you're thinking, wow,
I'm looking for something that serves the community, and as
Sergeant Wilson said, you want to help people, then this
might this might just be for you. Let's keep going here.
What are the minimum qualifications to enter the academy and
what about the specifically, what about the non sworn civilian
positions that are available? Can you tell us a little
bit about both those different ways to get employed.
Speaker 5 (06:28):
Yes, So for the not for the sworn, you have
to be a minimum age of eighteen, high school diploma
or GD no felony convictions possessed, valid Driver's license twenty
twenty vision or correctable.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Then for the non sworn we do have two positions.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
That are applicable for returning citizens and as garage attendants
and vehicle operators, but you need a CDL for the
vehicle operator.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Which is tote of drivers.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
We have social worker positions which you would need a
master's degree with the applicable license. And then we have
client analysts, and we would like for them and have
a degree, but sometimes equivalent of experience might work. Saying
other requirements as if the sworn side minimum age at eighteen,
there's no max age for either one of those positions.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Oh see, that's good to know. I don't know if
anybody would realize that there isn't a max age. That's
great information. Hey, you had you had been with You've
been the director since March twenty twenty one, right, yes,
And how did you how did you end up with
this role? How did you get into the Detroit Police
Department and specifically human resources department.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
So my military career is human resources and operations. And
as you stayed right in twenty four years and during COVID,
I retired from from the military.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
And when this position became available.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
It was a great opportunity when they selected me, knowing
one that my background is human resources and operations, so
I thought it was a great fit to be able
to take one uniform off after serving the country and
be able to give back to the city city of Detroit,
which I am from Detroit basically, and to give back
and it's rewarding. My mother was a city employee, my
brother was a city employee.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
I have family that is on the police department. So
to be able to.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
Leave the Marine Corps and then to come back here
and still have assist of camaraderie, a sense of teamwork,
to feel like you're family oriented, to feel like you
are still helping, you're still serving, and you're making an
impact on the community. So that is basically how I
got involved, and it's been great every since.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
That you love what you do, it sounds like and it's.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
An honor to be back here.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
It's an honor to be able to make a contribution
into something as larger than yourself.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah. I love that you both were born and raised
in Detroit and are here helping to traders and serving
our community and help. I mean, Director Patila, You're helping
people with employment, which is wonderful. And Sergeant Wilson, you're
keeping our community safe and well and preventing problems and
solving problems. You're both doing it for the city of Detroit.
(08:59):
It's just it's one orful to be speaking with you
today and for the things that you're doing. Thank you
for that.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
Thank you, Thank yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
So what kind of benefits does the department offer?
Speaker 4 (09:10):
So I can start and then sergeant basically jump in
if you want.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
But on the sworn side, we have competitive pay and
you'll pay increases four percent. They will max out at
the highest salary of four years. The secondary employment, they
can work up to thirty two additional hours, logevity pay pay,
vacation time, holiday pay, uniforms, great program with the Clever University,
(09:34):
you can obtain your bachelor's or your master's degree. We
also wow, we have tuition and reimbursement thousand dollars for
these sworn medical Bentel medical benefits, general benefits vision. On
the civilian side, in addition to some of those, you
also have barrit increases. You have an annual cost of
(09:54):
living increase that you receive city employee discounts. So so
disguise the limit here.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Wow, that's great and I you know, you mentioned so
many things related to pay, but you mentioned education too. Yes,
can you stop down and repeat that part again, because
I think that's really that's exciting that you know you
also help people expand their educational opportunities too.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
So back in August of twenty twenty two, we established
a partnership with Cleary University, and I would say that
we're probably one of the largest educated force. Since we
started that program with them, we've graduated over six hundred
and eighteen of our members have received master's degrees and
approximate one hundred and sixty five have received master's degrees.
And when we originally started the program, it was only
(10:37):
open onto the police officers, but since then we have
opened it up to families to actually our civilian employees
as well.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
So it's all patent.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
They go once a week or they can take some
of the courses that are online, and so even if
you've had previous college experience, they'll take a look at
your transcript and meet to you where you are to
see what you need to do to continue on the program.
We have partners ships with Mike Ellie School of Business
for sworn and some of the senior.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
Leadership leaders here.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
And then we also had a program with the Cleary University, uh,
the seniors in the Emerging Leadership program where they received
a certificate in leadership. But it was also an opportunity
to be able to mentor so our senior staff were
mentoring our junior staff.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Wow, that's really amazing. And so many people that you've
helped get either their bachelor's degree or their master's degree too,
and that it's open to other family members too. Is
such a massive benefit. Yes, that's great.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
And Sergeant Wilson, what would you say, uh, what kind
of benefits the department offers? I mean, you probably have
a different take on that. Even so, No, the record, she.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Named a lot of them, like bost of the ones
that we you know that we speak of, but there
are a few that some people may not be totally
aware of. As far as our department goes, where it's
like we are for sure in my experience, you got
to be one of those one of the most inclusive
departments that I've you know, from people I've talked to
(12:03):
that work at other departments in other states, one of
the most inclusive departments in the nation. I believe we've
piloted I could be wrong, but I believe we did
pilot having an LGBTQ liaison representative for the department. We are.
We the chief Chief Light has been really big on
(12:25):
highlighting mental health and things of that, you know, sort
of having things in play for officers. And even now
there's a new unit that was just developed to kind
of help officers with their work life balance. So you know,
those are things that people really don't talk about a lot,
but are absolutely necessary for not only a person who
(12:48):
works in a police officer capacity to succeed, or just
you know, just anybody just to be able to, you know,
know that someone is there to support them outside of
being a police officer.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
You know, I think what you said when you talk
about inclusivity and resource and mental health resources and work
life balance, all those things add up to a really
important culture. What is the Detroit Police Department culture to you?
And how do you guys maintain that culture as the
DPD grows? Because that's like, if that's it sounds like
a defining difference between you and other organizations, I'll go.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
First director real fest and because it be sure, so
let me so. One of our hiring orientations that we
had Chief why King. Now he speaks at everyone usually
and he says something that I have been trying to
wrap my mind around, figuring out how to say. And
(13:44):
what he said was, there's something about being a Detroit
police officer that you cannot quantify, like it is something
that you have to experience to know it. Because and
I'll tell you, we've had people who left and if
you ask ten people, nine of them will say the
(14:04):
same thing. They will say, I couldn't be myself. It
didn't feel like family. I felt like I just I
just wasn't comfortable. And they come back and they're like,
it's a it's a breath of fresh air. And more
times than I can remember they have said, I feel
like I'm back at home. These are totally different people,
(14:26):
never spoke, never had any type of conversation, same thing
coming out their mouth every single time. And that is
our culture.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
It's us.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
We're a family, and I think that's one thing that
separates us from everybody else, is that we are like
you come your family and then you.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Know it, guys take care of each other. Sounds like love.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Add on to that some man the things that I
would say, and I'm a civilian employee, but even having
that military background, certain things that I would say.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Yes, it is a family and they genuinely care.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
Like remember on this department, they truly truly care for
one another.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
It's a sense of we know that the community supports
us as well as we support the community. We focus
on training, just like Sergeant Wilson said, we also focus
on well being, you know, ensuring that we take care
of each other, ensuring that not just physical and spiritual,
but also mental as well. And mentorship. We believe in
providing mentorship. We know that someone aspires to be in
(15:24):
a position of where we are and we we've been there,
We've done that, and so we can help them because
we understand that the generation behind us are going to
be our future leaders. And then and then just basically
being able to recognize all the great things that we do.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I love that and the mentorship is super important. What
are some of the non sworn civilian positions, Director Patillo,
you know, you you were mentioning yourself. What are some
of the ones that somebody might be interested in?
Speaker 5 (15:54):
So we have crime analysts, dispatch, you know, they're the
first line of defense to actually dispatching a police officer
to a sne We have virtual patrol. We have traffic
control direct in the traffic and I know a lot
of times to see downtown there are those are traffic
control officers. There's a civilian employees out there directing the traffic.
We have intel specialists here. We have if you're interested
(16:16):
in administration, from office administration to unit resources to being
a manager in HR one day to TUK drivers. Mental
health coordinators are that you know, like you said, we've
stood up a new unit, so we're focused on mental
health and so those are some of the largest areas
that we're looking at. We have medical case managers here,
so there's a plenty of opportunities here at DPD. I mean,
(16:37):
we even had some legal positions as well.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
It sounds like there's a wide variety of needs. It
sounds like and when you think about those roles that
you need to fill, why is it important that these
get filled? When you look at the whole spectrum of
the number of people that you have and what they
all do to keep things working well for the city.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
So I would say that everyone has a role to
play and everyone's role is and not all of our
police officers can do some of the jobs.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
That we're doing because they need to focus.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
On protecting and serving the community, policing the neighborhoods, policing
being out there, and so we have created some other
positions that we know that civilian employees can do, and
they can. You know, and even if you don't want
to be a police officer, you can make a great
impact by doing one of those careers and being still
in law enforcement. You can still solve crime, but maybe
not be a police officer because you're a crime analyst.
(17:27):
You're dissecting what's going on the problems. You were doing
Project Greenlight, you're monitoring the businesses and things like that.
So it's an opportunity to fill the civilian positions so
our sworn officers.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Can do what they need to do in the community.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
So somebody may be listening, they're like, this sounds interesting
to me. I you know, I probably should see what
kind of jobs are available. She's mentioned a couple different
things that could fit my background. Well, let's repeat that
website for everybody again. The websites where they might be
able to find these opportunities.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
The website is Wwwjoindetroy's finance dot org. That is for
our swarm position and then for our non swarm position
is www dot Detroit, MI dot gov forward slash jobs.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Right, So diversity is crucial. What steps do you take
to ensure diversity at the DPD?
Speaker 5 (18:13):
So one of the things the Chief White did when
he first came back to Detroit Police Department is he
hired a diversity, equity and inclusion manager.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
And I don't know if other law.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Enforcement officers can say that, but I can tell you
that that has been great having a manager here who
focuses just on DEI.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
It helps us with recruiting, it helps us with training.
She goes in.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Mary Engleman is our diversity Equity Inclusion manager, and she
trains at our academy. She trains our leaders, and she
also can help us with Detroit Police Department is all cultures,
and so our deparper department needs to be reflective of
what our community is. And so we can take a
look at the demographics and see how we're doing, how
(18:54):
is our class academy classes doing, how are we doing
with our hiring and things like that, And so she's
able to help us in that retrospect.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
You just brought up a really good point. I mean,
your workforce needs to represent all the people that you serve,
and so the diversity of the whole Detroit metro area
is very diverse, and so keeping that mirroring the communities
that you serve is really important. Yes, you bring these
people in and you know, they get a wonderful career
(19:22):
with a DPD and they're thinking, hey, I would love
to have some kind of growth plan and development plan
in my career. Can you describe programs that you've initiated
initiated that support employee growth and development so they can
see like a career path with you.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
Yeah, so we have on the non sport side, we
do have some career opportunities where there are some senior positions,
meaning they may have like nine to one one dispatch.
Maybe there's some opportunities to be a senior nine one
one dispatch and so you know, if you've been on
the job for a certain amount of years, the leadership
could you know, if they have a vacancy, they could
take a look at what have you done, you know
(20:00):
in your primary role and would you make a great leader.
And so some of those educational programs that I mentioned,
you know where we have the mentorship program where we
have the Clear University, or the Senior and Emergent Leaders program,
the uh you know, uh different culture programs that we've
had my illeg School of Business program that we've had
which has taught you to be critical and also to
(20:23):
be able to solve problems. They have an opportunity to
observe you. So records and ident is another one of
those positions. So we have some positions that are already
to where you can uh up mobility. So if you're
in an administration human resources, maybe you start out as
an office administration or maybe an office assistant. Well, the
next role may be for an employee service consultant, you know,
to be able to now, okay, take it a step further.
(20:45):
Instead of just doing you know, correspondence and you know,
scheduling and things like that.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Tracking, maybe you take a look at what does it take.
Speaker 5 (20:53):
To be able to come on board to be part
of the HR community hiring, you know, grievances, labor relations,
being part of career fairs and things like that.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Partnerships, that's great. Any senior emergent leaders, can you give
a little more description on that.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
Yeah, so that was we did that with Clear University.
Our first co wort was last year. We took a
look at there was probably about thirty forty students and
we partnered civilian and police officers and we took the
senior leadership of both of those and paired them up
with individuals on the junior side of it, meaning the
(21:32):
lower ranking. We took classes in leadership, We took class
and what is trust? What is organizational climate? What is
organizational culture? How do you treat each other with respect
and value? Solving problems? How do you engage and communicate effectively?
How do you get along together? So those are some
(21:52):
of the things that we did case studies and just
basically bringing each other together.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
You also had mentorship.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Opportunity where you would have to meet one on one,
go over some of your goals, go over some of
your objectives.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Where would you like.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
To see yourselves in you know, here's down the line,
and how could we as a department help.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
That's great and that is that is indeed a form
of mentorship as well. That's fantastic, I'm sure for everybody
who participated. Hey, what do you look for when you're
recruiting a candidate. If somebody's listening and they're like, huh,
I wonder if I'm a good candidate, sworn a non
sworn civilian, what are you look what are you looking for?
Speaker 3 (22:25):
So I would say, on a sworn side, we definitely
need someone who would love interacting with the community, who
loves the community, who is resilient, who works well with others,
who and of course meets our minimum qualifications. We have
to consider or hey, you guys, if you're thinking about it,
(22:45):
you have to consider that you will be talking to
people every day, every single day, whether it's on the
phone or in person. You know, you'll be interacting with
dispatch operators. So this is definitely people's job. So you
know you'll get people in all day and that is
(23:07):
that is a major factor. Being able to get along,
you know.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yeah, that's a super important quality. What about you, Director Patillo.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
Some of the things that I would look for passion
for serving because this is this is more than just
a job. It's a career and you're making an impact
into someone's life. Also, commitment, you know, it's a twenty
four to seven day job. Integrity, Your integrity is utmost
(23:39):
important treating individuals fair, treating them with respect, valuing people.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Customer service is very keen. Yeah, that's a that's a
great way to put it. It is a lot of
customer service, even though it's our community. You're really, uh,
you really are providing services to to keep the community safe.
And well, what are what are some of the benefits
to seeking a sworn career and non source non sworn
(24:09):
career at the Detroit Police Department.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
I would say for the sworn side, see seeking a
career with us, we have so many different things that
you can do. We have over one hundred units, okay,
and some of those units are really cool. So we
have mounted, we have knine, we have the dive team,
we have the bomb squad, we have crime intel, we
(24:36):
have a unit that investigates blind So you know what
I what I say is that there is literally something
for everyone, and those things, once you do them, you
could you can move on and do something else. This
career could prepare you. Let's say, once you retire, you
can move on and do something much grander with all
(24:58):
the training and experience that you've gained over your twenty
to twenty five years, and even while you're here, just
using your experience from whatever different units that you may
have worked in that could get you ready for you know,
promotions and those type of things.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
I mean, you've you've had some really interesting different departments
and you said over one hundred departments.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Yes, over one hundred different units. You take something from
every single unit that you were working in. We are
a department that encourages growth and development. Like Director mentioned education,
we do promotional exams. You know, with only a couple
of years, and if you have your bachelors you could
(25:44):
take the test to be promoted. I don't think that's
happening many other places. If you, you know, you have
three five years on the job, you can be a
sergeant here in Detroit. You can't do that anywhere else.
I'm almost certain of it. So you know, we have
we have surplus of opportunity for anyone who what's it?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
What about you, Director Patilla, What are the benefits to
seeking a nonswar career at the DPDA.
Speaker 5 (26:07):
So I've seen this in some of our individuals. They
maybe were fearful of being a police officer, and so
they came over to the nonsworn side and they worked
as a virtual patrol or client analyst or nine to
one one dispatch for about a year or so and
then they decided, oh my god, I can do this.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
I love it. And being on the non sworn side allowed.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
Them an opportunity to be able to explore the job,
to be able to see it, to see how we work,
to see how we interact as sworn and as non sworn,
and gave them an opportunity to come out to some
of our events, maybe participating in some of our programs,
to say I can't do this, you know, and this
is what I want to do.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
So you have the two exciting events coming up in November.
Everybody should know about too, in case they're like, hey,
whether I'm sworn or not sworn, there may be something
for me here. What do you eventually have coming up?
Share the details?
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Oh my goodness, yes, I'm so excited. So November fourteenth,
we have our DPD great program. Our field recruiters came
up with it. They were super geeked when they came
up with it because it was such a great idea. So,
like director kind of mentioned, there are some people who
are a little timid or discouraged about, you know, signing
(27:21):
up to be a police officer. But they still have questions,
they're still interested, So what do you do? You know
a lot of people stop. So my field recruiters, they
saw this as an opportunity to create this program, and
what it is is it's a save space to come
and just ask questions, you can apply. We actually have
(27:42):
resources available for some individuals who may have been discouraged
in the past from like maybe they had like some
hiccups with traffic or something like that. So we'll have
resources available there for them for them to talk to
people and just see, you know, their eligibility and what
do they need to do from here. Also, well, we
(28:03):
have some of our specialized units come out, so you know,
they may have heard about all the units that we have,
but they never have seen them. So we'll have those
guys there and they can talk to them, check out
some of their cool equipment, and just really kind of
chat it up with police officers in the space that
most people really don't have the opportunity to. So that's it.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
That's November fourteenth, Yes, that's November fourteenth. Where is that.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
That's a Triumph Church the East campus.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Right, Yeah, Triumph Church, East Campus, November fourteenth, there's our
first event. What's the second one?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Yeah, that's all the second of it. Oh you do
you want to want to take it? Director?
Speaker 5 (28:43):
So yes, So on Saturday, November the sixteenth, we're going
to be doing a one day hiring fair where you
can complete.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
Most of the process in one day. So what does
that mean for anyone who's looking to become a police officer.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
We will give you free m coloded screening, free physical
agility test, free written test, opportunity to complete the oral board,
psychological screening if you make it all the way all
the way to that part. So something that will normally
take you three weeks to a month to get done,
you can complete most of that process and one day
you can also come in and complete an application.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
You can talk to the.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
Background in background investigators that we have and some of
the representatives we're going to have across the department. And
then also on the nonsborn side, we're going to be
accepting on site applications. We will help you fill out
your applications. We can take a look at your resumes
if you have those as well.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
And that date again is that date.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
Is going to be Saturday, except Saturday November sixteenth from
seven am to five pm. The address is going to
be sixty to fifty Linwood at our training Center.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Okay, that is at the training center, So make sure
that you go to the right location for the November sixteenth.
Very like a rapid version event, right, Yes, that's great. Well.
I love first of all how passionate you guys are
about what you do with regard to serving the community.
And second of all, the pride that you have in
the Detroit Police Department and the kind of unique culture
that you've created there, and how important it is to
(30:07):
be inclusive in the diversity that you have. It just
speaks again to the really coolness of Detroit that we
also have a really awesome Detroit Police Department and that
you guys want to keep that going with the people
that you're hiring. There are over one hundred positions available
that are sworn and non sworn. You can just go
to either join Detroit's Finest dot org that's joined Detroit's
(30:29):
Finest dot org or for the non sworn positions Detroit
ami dot gov forward slash jobs. And then there are
the events that are taking place on both November fourteenth
at Triumph Church. The East Campus and November sixteenth over
on Linnwood. Thank you guys so much for joining us today.
Today we've been blessed by the presence of Director Katrina Pattillo,
(30:54):
who is with the Human Resources Bureau, and also Sergeant
Tamar Wilson, who is with the police Recruiting Unit. Thank
you both for joining us today. We really appreciate the
service that you're providing to the community and hope you
have super, super successful recruitment recruitment events in the future.
Thanks so much for being with us.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Thank you for the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
This has been light up the d a community a
fairs program from iHeartMedia Detroit. If your organization would like
to get on the program, email Colleen Grant at iHeartMedia
dot com. Here are all episodes on this station's podcast page.
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