Oceanside Police Department Gets Creative To Recruit New Officers

OCEANSIDE, CA — The Oceanside Police Department is having similar difficulties trying to fill open positions like so many other employers right now. This comes as no surprise to anyone that has tried to hire during the current employment crisis. However, unlike other professions that can cut back on services or hours of operation, the police do not have that option.

The Patch reached out to Jennifer Atenza, the Public Information Officer of the Oceanside Police Department, for an update on their recruitment efforts.

I understand OPD is looking to hire a variety of different officers. How many openings does the department have right now?

"Right now, we have over 20 openings and we anticipate that number to grow as we have people retiring and promoting within, etc. We anticipate more openings throughout 2022 and into 2023. So looking at that forecasting for staffing levels, we need to fill these positions. We have an authorized budgeted strength of 228 sworn and 84 professional staff members."

In a recent interview, Mayor Sanchez mentioned that Chief Armijo is trying new things and is looking to bring on community liaisons and non sworn officers to work within the community. Is that something that you're also looking to include in your recruitment efforts?

"The recruitment video we are working on currently is focused on hiring for lateral peace officers. Those are already sworn officers that are looking to move to Oceanside or move their careers to Oceanside. We'll be wrapping up filming on the 22nd and then we go into post which can take a couple of weeks, so we don't have a hard date for when the video will be ready.

We are also hiring new officers, people looking to join law enforcement for the first time. We recently welcomed six new recruits from the academy. We also have civilian positions.

There's really a place for everyone on the department even if you are not looking to be a sworn gun-carrying police officer.

We have professional staff positions that are available if you want to help make a difference in your own community. We are looking for dispatchers. We are looking for records technicians, Those civilian, non-sworn positions are the heartbeat of the department and keep things moving so our officers can do their job in the field.

Our chief is working on an initiative with the city that is centered around our CSO program. Our CSO's are non sworn professional staff members who do a variety of roles throughout the department in support of our sworn officers. A lot of the things they do allow our sworn staff to focus their attention on more severe crimes that require deeper investigation. They can take reports for some of our more basic things that don't require a police officer to respond.

The Chief has put together an initiative centered around CSO's. The idea is we bring them in for three years and they get to work in all the different departments around Oceanside PD. They would get to do three months working in dispatch, three months working in our detective bureau, three months working the front desk. They would get exposed to all the different career paths in the department. Then at the end of that three-year term hopefully we have now found a niche for them within the department and we can help encourage them throughout that career path with Oceanside PD.

When the Chief laid it out for me I was thrilled. It's brilliant because this is something that will benefit the department long after some of us have retired and moved on. This will benefit the department for years to come."

Speaking of benefitting the department, let's swing back around and talk a little bit about your joining OPD. How long have you been with the Oceanside Police Department?

"I came in November. I'm newly appointed to the role of PIO. The Public Information Officer position was something that the Chief created after really listening to what the community was looking for from Oceanside PD.

One of the things that we found was that Oceanside PD is actually doing many of the things the community was asking. All the initiatives and programs and outreach was already happening, we just weren't doing the greatest job about sharing it.

We didn't really have staffing in place to facilitate that. So that's where my role was created. Every department in law enforcement is finding that a PIO is really vital to working with the community.

Our officers are very humble. They go about their work, day in and day out, but they don't always like to share and talk about it because for them it's just doing their job. But I think we recognize that a lot of its heroic work and should be shared. I think it's beneficial for the community to know what they're doing every single day and the hard work that goes on. So my role is new. They haven't had a full-time PIO for many years at Oceanside PD and I'm excited to be here and to help create this role and manage all of our communications.

It's a different role. A traditional PIO interacted with media and put out press releases. But now in 2022, it's a lot more than that. It's making sure that we're present on social media because that's where our residents are and that's one of the best ways to reach them. Then it's finding other ways to engage the community because law enforcement has really evolved, especially over the last few years with the pandemic.

Key to good communication is listening. I've spent a lot of my first few weeks with Oceanside touring around the city, meeting with people and really just listening to what the needs are, listening to what the concerns are. We want to make sure that we're sharing information that is valuable and that the community desires."

What did you do before coming to Oceanside?

"Prior to Oceanside, I was with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for a little over 13 years. I was assigned to Carson Sheriff's station and I worked under the direction of Captain Damon A. Jones and I was fortunate enough to be entrusted to be the PIO for that station and help manage their social media and their communications and media relations."

So you're no stranger to social media and had some experience doing that before joining OPD?

"I had some experience with the Sheriff's Department when social media first came about. Many years ago my captain at that time handed me this as a project and said let's do something with this. Since then I've done this for the Sheriff's Department that I was assigned to and over the years I realized my favorite parts about my job were those moments where I could engage with the community and build relationships. To really get to know what people are concerned about and help our station address those concerns.

Acting as a liaison between our residents and community groups and my captain. I really found that was what made me excited to get out of bed and go to work every day. That's why when this role at Oceanside opened up, it was the perfect fit.

I'm so thrilled and grateful to be here. The people are just amazing. We have so much diversity. We have a beautiful, supportive community where everybody knows everybody. A lot of people are lifelong residents and that's very similar to the community that I came from. Then you have this amazing, beautiful bonus of the ocean being right there. Having a view of that when you go to work every day, I have to pinch myself, I still can't believe I work here.

Not only is Oceanside beautiful but it's got this cool small-town vibe, but it's a big dynamic city. There's a lot happening and I love that."

Is Oceanside's location a part of the recruitment effort?

"That's actually our focus. Yes. So every law enforcement agency is hiring right now. We're all looking to hire the best quality candidates. Anyone looking for a career in law enforcement now is the time.

That's why the biggest focus of our recruitment is showcasing what the city has to offer as a work environment, the lifestyle, the work-life balance.

We have a beach unit, a harbor unit. You can learn how to be a boat captain if you want. There are so many opportunities that are unique to Oceanside that you can't find in other departments and it just can't be beaten. You really cannot find a better place to work."

How does Oceanside's compensation package compare to other police departments?

"It's extremely competitive. We have an excellent hiring and benefits package. Our wages are competitive. We currently have a lateral incentive program for existing peace officers with different benefits and bonuses throughout a certain time period. There's also an incentive for moving, I believe it's about a $5,000 moving support bonus if you're relocating.

There's a lot available for those that are looking to make that move from another department. In addition to the compensation is our leadership.

I think it makes a big difference not just what you do but who you do it for. Our leadership under Chief Armijo is very dynamic.

He's innovative as you can see with our CSO program, he's developing new ideas for the department and they're very approachable. So you have a rank structure there, but it's a very approachable leadership style. They're open to hearing ideas from their officers and helping facilitate those ideas into action. So that's been a really awesome thing coming in from a different law enforcement agency to see his style of leadership. He consistently hosts roundtables with every level of rank throughout the department sworn and civilian to hear their ideas and thoughts on how we can continuously get better. He's very progressive and innovative and it's great to see the dynamic under his leadership.

Staffing challenges are happening across the nation. We're seeing that no matter what industry you work in. So making sure that we fill those vital positions is so important. People can visit the website, JOINOPD.net and fill out a job interest card. There's a link there and they'll receive a notification when those job postings open up and details about the requirements and what's involved."

The Oceanside Police Department is using video to reach all different types of potential applicants. In a recent KOCT video, Chief Armijo encourages local Oceansider's to consider a career with the Oceanside Police Department.

Stay tuned for the new Lateral Officer Recruitment video expected to be posted on the OPD YouTube channel next month.

For more information about openings at the Oceanside Police Department visit , JOINOPD.net

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