Police Department Begins Recruiting Asian Americans

city began its first recruitment campaign Wednesday by sending out the word in eight languages that the force welcomes them.

“Only 4.5% of the officers are Asian,” Faye Washington, general manager of the city Personnel Department, said at a news conference at the Police Academy in Elysian Park, attended mostly by Asian media representatives and community leaders.

She said the city’s goal is to increase the number of Asians on the force first to 7%, a goal set by the Police Commission several years ago, then even higher to “mirror their exact numbers” in the population.

“We hope that this message gets out in the communities of Los Angeles and all the surrounding communities because everyone needs to know that the city of Los Angeles is serious about diversity,” Washington said.

Compared to the 4.5% figure for Asians, whites make up 54% of the force, Latinos are 26% and African Americans 15%. Women, meanwhile, make up 16% of the force.

Asians, about 10% of the city’s population in the 1990 census, are expected to approach 20% by 2000.

On Saturday, the Police Department is holding what Police Chief Willie L. Williams said will be the first Asian Pacific Career Fair, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the Police Academy, 1880 N. Academy Drive. Forty police personnel, including the chief, will on hand to field queries from the public.

“While we have a long way to go, the recruitment campaign is an important first step,” said Stewart Kwoh, president of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, who brought together a coalition that lobbied to increase the ranks of the Asians in the department.

The timing is right, too, Kwoh said, because the department is planning to hire 1,000 officers next year. “We should make use of the opportunity,” the attorney said.

The low Asian representation is partly attributable to the fact that Asians were not actively recruited by the LAPD in the past. They were excluded from the 1980 consent decree that required the LAPD to set specific goals to increase the number of women, Latinos and blacks on the force to better reflect the city’s population.

But another reason for the small number of Asian police is cultural. Because of the emphasis on education and professions, many Asian families push their children to become doctors, lawyers, engineers and scientists.

Lt. Paul Kim, 45, the highest-ranking Asian on the force, said Asian families should consider the LAPD as a viable career option for their children because it offers a “rewarding professional opportunities.” Jobs range from patrol duties to top management positions, he said.

“It offers you a chance to be a somebody--(and at the same time) to be in a position to help someone,” said Kim, who is taking a captain’s test soon.

Kathy Imahara, a legal center staff attorney who met with numerous city officials to push the issue, said that until very recently Asians and Pacific Islanders felt entirely left out.

“We wanted to work not only with the LAPD but with a lot of other law enforcement associations out there, but we weren’t always finding the door open to us,” she said.

But now, “the police chief and the new mayor are making a real difference,” she said.

In a meeting last month of top city officials, $50,000 was set for the recruitment campaign and to hire Healthier Solutions Inc., a public relations firm well-versed in working with Asian Americans.

Because of the diversity within Asian communities, Healthier Solutions came up with recruitment flyers in Chinese, Cambodian, Japanese, Korean, Samoan, Thai, Tongan and Vietnamese.

Williams said he hoped to see Asian Americans pack the Police Academy auditorium Saturday.

“By meeting face to face with Asian police officers, a lot of people who are apprehensive about working for the Police Department can have their questions answered,” said Officer Cindy Chow, a Los Angeles native who chose to become a cop over an accountant, after receiving a degree from USC. It’s a decision she said she’s glad she made.