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Responding to a news report that his department is among the least "racially balanced" in the country, West Valley City Police Chief Lee Russo stressed Monday that his force focuses on being "culturally aware" instead of just "culturally represented."
"The most critical concern is cultural awareness," Russo said. "To make sure that every officer responds with sensitivity and respect. ... It's really important to understand the varying cultures represented within the community."
In a story published Monday in The Salt Lake Tribune, The Associated Press cited 2007 Census Bureau data and Justice Department figures indicating that while a third of West Valley City is Hispanic, only 6 percent of the police force was.
The police department released more current data Monday, which said that, as of Aug. 31, 5 percent of its force is Hispanic. According to 2010 census data, 33 percent of West Valley City residents are Hispanic.
While Russo stressed his focus on "cultural awareness" Monday, he said the issue of racial or ethnic balance in a police force is a valid one for his department and other forces throughout the nation.
In July 2013, city officials and Latino groups signed an agreement designed to restore the community's trust in police through "cultural competency" training of officers and other staffers. The agreement came out of a discussion last May that was mediated by the U.S. Department of Justice representatives, which focused on concerns about racial profiling after the dismissal of scores of drug cases because of evidence mishandling.
Russo said Monday that agreement has "been playing in the background" during the past year as the department worked to hire more Latino officers. Current officers have become more entrenched in the city's Hispanic population by attending community events, meeting with residents and engaging in Spanish radio shows.
Russo said the slight decrease in the number of Hispanic officers between 2007 and 2014 was due to officers retiring and a downsizing of the department in recent years. He said the force did a mass hiring in the past year, bringing in 32 new police officers. During the mass hire, he said the department gave preference to minorities, but also looked for candidates who could speak and write Spanish or another language fluently.
"We have quite a few of our officers who have done LDS missions in Mexico, Latin America," he said. "These members have been immersed in the culture, and have become very [culturally] aware and fluent in the language."
But Russo said one of the greatest challenges during the hiring process is finding Hispanic applicants who are qualified for the job.
"You can't hire people that don't apply," he said. "That's one of the reasons we need to continue to engage and build confidence [within the community.] Over time, they will begin to take a different view, think that maybe this is a legitimate career choice."
Hispanics are not the only minority community in West Valley City. Russo noted that the city also has a concentration of Vietnamese population, along with many Pacific Islanders. He said the department looks for officers who are fluent in those languages, as well.
According to the police department, 2.5 percent of the police force is Asian as of late August, and 2.5 percent are Pacific Islander. Two percent are black, while the remainder — 88 percent — are Caucasian.
In nearby Salt Lake City, police report that 6 percent of their 410 sworn officers are Hispanic. According to Census data, 22 percent of the capital's residents are Hispanic as of 2010. Four percent of sworn officers are Asian, according to the police department, while 1 percent are black and fewer than 1 percent are American Indian. Caucasians make up 87 percent of the police force, according to authorities.
Twitter: @jm_miller