Welcome to the second installment of a new feature on Police1, where we shine a spotlight on standout police recruitment videos. We recently announced the winner of Police1’s top police recruitment videos of 2024, but there are so many creative and impactful police recruitment strategies to highlight that we’ve decided to keep the momentum going.
This ongoing series is designed to celebrate best practices in police recruitment campaigns and provide police departments with police recruitment video ideas. Here we profile the Menomonee Falls (Wisconsin) Police Department, which has tackled fierce competition in a crowded metro area to create a powerful and emotionally driven recruitment campaign.
Support Captain Matthew A. Lewek and his team found their answer in a recruitment video designed to connect with the hearts of aspiring officers — by focusing not just on the job, but on the deeper calling to serve. Here’s what he had to say:
Competing for attention in a busy metro area
“Being one of many law enforcement agencies in a major metropolitan area, we face stiff competition in our recruitment efforts,” said Lewek. “Our video addressed this challenge by appealing to an aspiring officer’s inner calling to serve.”
Rather than take a standard “day in the life” approach, the department’s video emphasizes pride, purpose and the personal journey behind the badge — offering an emotional draw rather than a procedural overview.
A message of self-leadership and pride
The primary goal? To speak directly to those who feel the job is more than just a job.
“We wanted to showcase the importance of self-leadership and having a vocation to serve others,” Lewek explained. “Through imagery, we also wanted the audience to feel the tremendous sense of pride that comes along with serving in the Menomonee Falls community.”
Letting officers’ voices lead the way
Rather than scripting a narrative from the top down, the creative team — which included officers, supervisors, commanders and a local videography firm — built the story around real sentiments from those already wearing the uniform.
“Our group determined the video’s focus should not be a day in the life of an officer,” Lewek said. “It should highlight the sentiments of our current officers and why they were ‘called’ to the profession. The scenes selected coincided with the reasons our officers gave for choosing to serve in Menomonee Falls.”
Officers were actively involved, providing feedback on scene development and answering preset questions that formed the foundation for the video’s voiceover narration.
A collaborative process, a powerful result
The department worked with Captivatefilmco.com, a local firm selected after several interviews to ensure the right creative fit. Internally, officers from all levels of the organization contributed to planning, messaging and coordination.
“The process of creating a quality video is quite comprehensive,” Lewek said. “From attending numerous meetings focused on messaging, to determining what footage to obtain, to aligning staff to film the scenes and editing shots — it was a detailed undertaking.”
Making an impact
The video has resonated — not just with potential recruits, but within the department and the broader community.
“It was incredibly well received by both sworn and non-sworn members of our department and our village leadership,” Lewek said. “We’ve had applicants share that seeing the video was the main reason they applied to our agency.”
And that’s exactly what the team set out to do: not just show what they do, but why they do it.
Would you like Police1 to profile your police department’s recruitment video? Contact us here.
| PREVIOUSLY: Western Australia Police: The recruitment video that’s driving applications
