With new recruit registration underway, the NYPD will, for the first time, be circulating ads featuring members who identify as gay.
Captain Glorisel Lee, the commanding officer of Recruitment, is leading the initiative, which will include a series of information sessions, career fairs, and street corner outreach. The $40 exam fee will also be waived for the four weeks of registration, the New York Daily News reports.
As another part of this new effort, the NYPD will begin to publish more recruitment statistics. Along with available data about race, the department will offer a breakdown of members’ sexual identity and orientation. They will be one of the first police departments in the country to do so, and hope that it will motivate LGBTQIA+ individuals to apply.
“You have tangible metrics,” said Capt. Lee. “And if people can actually see the numbers, they’ll feel like they are joining a larger community.”
