James McDonnell Pushes Recruitment for Deputies and Non-Traditional Jobs in Law Enforcement
There is a new sheriff in town and it is James “Jim” McDonnell of Los Angeles County at the Monterey Park, California location, making him the 32nd sheriff to hold that title. Celebrating his first year in office on December 1, 2015, McDonnell comes to the county with previous experience as the Chief of Police for Long Beach, California for five years, and moving up the ranks as Assistant Chief for the Los Angeles Police Department where he served in different capacities for 29 years. It was these years where he learned of the many opportunities that are still available today, but about three percent who apply actually graduate from the academy and make it into this elite law enforcement organization.
Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, it was in high school when the sheriff decided to take this law enforcement career path. He studied Criminal Justice in college, but eventually seized the opportunity to apply to become a Los Angeles Police Officer.
His father was a laborer. Sheriff McDonnell had no family history in law enforcement, but he chose this career because, “I looked at something that would be new and challenging everyday. I could interact with the people and at the end of the day, I might be able to look back on it and think that I helped somebody,” he expresses.
The 56-year young sheriff embraces his new leadership position and encourages others to join careers in law enforcement because of the rewards. “Being able to deal with someone in a crisis and hopefully make their day a little bit better than it would have been is rewarding. Half of the time, we deal with people on the worst day of their life, so if we are able to make that day just a little bit better and put them on the right path, then that’s a good day for all of us,” he says.
He reflects on one of his worst days as an officer, which he recalls was the Los Angeles Riots in 1992. “Watching so much destruction that was so unnecessary, is some-thing I never want to see happen again,” McDonnell remembers.
Today is still a very troubling time in policing, he recalls. “We always try to do better and you are only as weak as your weakest link. So when something happens, it reflects on everybody. We try to put order into chaos and help people as best we can. When we make a mistake, we need to be able to figure out how we are going to fix it. And then we need to be in a position where we are constantly estab-lishing relationships with the community and to be in a position where if something does go wrong, that we are not standing by ourselves. We have an investment in the community and we want to work with the community, not during just a crisis, but before one.”
Any time there is national attention on any issue or career, he admits it will either help or hinder the department and its efforts to recruit.
“Everything that happens has an impact on the ability to recruit, which has been impacted by national attention that is being seen in the media. The good things are not talked about. I’ve been exposed to so much good by police that is never reported. We need to do a better job at telling our story and the community telling our story as well. This is one of the more honorable professions that a person can get into,” the sheriff states.
“For someone who is looking for a career,” he notes, “a way to give back to the community; a way to help protect people who can’t protect themselves, I can’t think of a better job than being a police officer.” McDonnell points out that, “People need to realize that there is no profession where everything goes right every day. We can look at doctors, lawyers, or just pick a profession, there are always things going wrong. It happens everywhere, but it is what we do with it when it happens, that’s important. That is where we will step up and be accountable and work hard to ensure that certain things do not happen again. We’re not hiding anything, we’re trying to be as good as we can under difficult circumstances.”
Today, the profile is not much different than what law enforcement has always recruited. They are looking for people from the community to serve who are in good physical condition, who can pass a background investigation and are medically sound, and have the ability to do the job. They recruit people who can be trained and are open minded, sincere in what they do, are serious about the job, who want the job for the right reasons, and have the ability to be able to deal with conflict in a way where they can de-escalate it.
Concerned about the different cultures and languages in the community, the sheriff insists that recruits need to be sensitive to the fact that not everyone grew up in the same way. Therefore, potential officers need to be able to adapt and to be respectful of whatever conflict they may deal with professionally.
Besides being a sheriff or police officer, the Los Angeles County is looking for those who want to work in the jails, security services, search and rescue, and with the off shore boat patrols.
Since Los Angeles County runs one of the largest crime labs in the country, there are jobs available in those areas as well. From scientists (blood work and ballistics), to crime scene investigators, to IT specialists and computer support technicians, there are a host of job opportunities to seek. As deputy, one could serve in a correctional facility, a jail, as a recruit, property and evidence supervisor, or a patrol officer, to name a few. Some salaries start at $40,000 and can range as high or higher than $80,000. There are nearly 18,000 employees working for the county of Los Angeles, with half of them being civilian jobs, which are not sworn peace officers.
According to McDonnell, hiring is on-going due to retirements or people moving to other organizations. However, the competition is stiff and the Sheriff Department can receive over 3,000 applications in one month. Of the applicants chosen to become deputies, for example, only about four percent of them actually make it to the academy. The requirement is a high school diploma, but higher education is encouraged. “The value of an education is a tremendous skill to have to work on the complexities that we deal with in every situation. It is good to have the education behind you to have the insight to be able to understand people from all over the world. It is also good to have life experiences, spending time in the military, for example. I’m a big advocate for education, but there are great opportunities with only a high school diploma,” he confirms.
