Asheville fire, police departments want to improve staff diversity

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    ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Two city departments are trying to shake up their staffs. Asheville police and fire officials said they are lacking diversity. Both are actively working to recruit more diverse applicants.

“We’ve not been able to keep up with our community,” Asheville Fire Battalion Chief Patrick Crudup said.

Interim Police Chief Robert White said there are a number of reasons.

“It’s more challenging to get individuals of color,” White said.

It’s something some community members said is important.

“We need the diversity to take place,” Asheville resident Raymond Neal said.

Asheville is below the national average for fire departments when it comes to minority representation.

African-Americans and Latinos each make up 4 percent of the staff. Women make up 5 percent.

“Over the course of the department, it has been not just our department in the fire service in general,” Crudup said.

Since July, firefighters have worked to change that.

“We have a recruitment team right now who is working very diligently on creating avenues for increasing our outreach,” Crudup said.

He said they are going to middle schools and community groups to educate people about being firefighters.

White said the thing that most disappoints him about the police department is the percentage of African-Americans: 4.7. They make up 13.3 percent of Asheville’s population.

The department is also lower in proportion than the city’s population with Latinos and Native Americans.

“It’s this perception that individuals of color are not necessarily interested in working in law enforcement because of some of the perceptions that they have as it relates to law enforcement, and we have to work on that,” White said.

He said the department has stepped up its recruitment in the last month. It is collaborating with Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College and Asheville High School to target young people.

White said they’ve already selected four students for the pilot program to train them until they can enter the police academy at 20.

“We have made a commitment that we will hire those individuals. Once we select them, we’ll hire them. And between their school time, they’ll commit to doing some work here at the police department,” White said.

Both chiefs said they are optimistic they can increase diversity on their staffs.

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