We’ve all seen them — police recruiting videos that make us laugh, make us cringe, and sometimes make us ask, “What were they thinking?” As police departments expand recruiting efforts, social media and video have become important tools in attracting the right candidates for your agency, but is your agency doing it right? Being strategic in your approach is key — and don’t forget, these videos are meant to attract young people to the job, so they may not truly mesh with what management thinks will be effective.
Here are five tips to consider when making a police recruitment video.
1. Understand your audience
Before diving into production, it’s important to understand your target audience. Different demographics will be drawn to different aspects of police work.
For example, younger candidates may be motivated by career advancement opportunities and making changes in their community. Those with prior military experience may be attracted to the structure and discipline of police work. Tailoring your message to these interests can make your video more compelling. The Savannah Police Department did just that with its excellent “Step Forward” campaign:
With that in mind, define the characteristics you want in a potential police officer or deputy for your department and then take the time to determine exactly what potential recruits are looking for in a career with your agency. Marketing and public relations firms can create “candidate avatars” for lack of a better term, to help keep them on track when creating a campaign. Create your “Officer Candidate Chris Doe” and tailor your campaign to that person.
Also, keep videos short. While long-form storytelling is great for some platforms, to grab the attention of potential candidates, keep videos to one minute or less. Thirty seconds is a good baseline.
2. Keep it real
One of the most powerful ways to attract potential candidates is through authentic storytelling. Featuring your officers and their personal experiences provides a glimpse at what it’s like to work in law enforcement. This helps demystify the job and make it more relatable.
The Phoenix Police Department has done an excellent job highlighting the various aspects of police work outside of the typical stereotypes many may have about the job.
However, don’t shy away from the challenges of the job. Candidates need to understand both the rewarding and demanding aspects of a career in law enforcement. Be clear about the fact that this can be a stressful career, that shiftwork is often involved, and that officers experience things that most people do not. But also show how the department supports its officers through training, mental health resources and work-life balance initiatives.
Make sure your videos include a diverse range of profiles to reflect the many different opportunities law enforcement provides and put faces to those positions along with the personal experiences and reasons why officers joined your department. Potential candidates want to be able to see themselves as part of your agency.
3. Highlight department culture and community commitment
The culture within your department plays a significant role in job satisfaction. Your videos should reflect the department’s values, work and team environment. This helps potential recruits see how they would fit into your agency. The Baltimore Police Department released a series of recruitment videos as they transformed their culture over the past number of years.
When a potential candidate watches the video, they know what will be expected of them as an officer. In your videos, demonstrate your department’s commitment to values such as integrity, professionalism and community service.
In addition, showing how officers truly make a difference every day in their communities is a strong motivator for many young people today. Highlight community engagement initiatives, outreach programs and one-on-one interactions to show how an officer or deputy can make meaningful change in their community. York Regional Police in Canada did just that with its “Together We Are More” campaign.
Feature videos of officers in your community, mentoring young people or working on neighborhood improvement projects. Include video clips of influencers in your community who have worked with police or benefitted from programs your agency is involved with.
4. Focus on career growth and opportunities
Today’s candidate is often looking for both growth and educational opportunities in their careers. Stress that in law enforcement, one can do many different jobs with the same employer. The Georgia Department of Corrections features the opportunity to not only advance but also to move around the state if one cares to. This helps attract young people who may want to try different career paths.
Highlight more than the “glamorous” positions in law enforcement such as SWAT and K-9. Include short videos from different aspects of the job and feature testimonials from officers and professional staff members who have done various duties throughout their careers.
5. Have a call to action
Lastly, and this may be the most important, a great recruitment video must have a clear call to action. This could simply be directing them to your recruitment website, providing contact information, or detailing application procedures and testing. Better yet, include a link to click on that generates an automated, personal response.
Eight-month hiring processes don’t work. Immediate responses via text to any inquiries is not only best practice but is expected by today’s tech-savvy population. Use technology to your advantage and explore companies to help speed up your recruiting and background processes.
Conclusion
Creating an effective police recruitment video requires a strategic approach. A great recruiting video will be targeted, short, focused, honest and have a call to action.
In the end, no matter how many likes or reposts a video gets, it’s not the true tale of success. Your agency should keep track of how many contacts of interest were made after the video was released, how many took action (clicked through to a recruiting site), and how many people went forward with an application, made it through the academy and actually became police officers. Don’t stop there. Check the numbers after a year and five years. Those statistics will help you determine if the campaign was truly successful. The key is to track outcomes not simple outputs.
