Police Departments Look to HBCUs to Recruit New Officers

In a creative initiative to cultivate more Black officers, Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., in 2021 became the first HBCU in the country to start a police academy. It has since graduated more than 45 cadets.

Amidst an ongoing struggle to recruit and retain officers, police departments across the country are going to historically Black colleges and universities in hopes of diversifying the profession and increasing officer numbers, according to a recent article in Yahoo! News. Although critics say recruiting more Black officers can’t fix a broken system, supporters note that recruiting at HBCUs will help empower Black leaders in the community and create police departments that reflect the communities where they serve, and many police departments, the article says, find that HBCUs’ focus on community and service aligns with their own. The Lincoln University Law Enforcement Training Academy (LULETA), mentioned in the article, was the first HBCU in the country to start a police academy, graduating more than 45 cadets to date. Click here to read the full story.