Redwood City to seek cop recruiting funds 

Economic woes and hiring freezes were initially to blame, but since the city lifted its COVID-era hiring pause and the economy has shown improvement, interest in law enforcement roles have still remained low, according to the report. Now what seems to be driving away potential applicants and pushing away existing officers is an increase in scrutiny of law enforcement and greater demand for accountability, staff argued. 

“Statewide, agencies are grappling with a hiring crisis and turning to external expertise to bolster recruitment,” Police Chief Kristina Bell said in an email statement. “The competitive nature of the current market demands that we go above and beyond to attract the best candidates.”

Historically, the city has used more traditional recruitment methods like attending recruitment events in person or advertising in newspapers and police publications and on job boards, radio and TV, which staff said have proven less effective. The department spent $88,633 last year to send staff to in-person recruiting events and attracted only five successful applicants who were offered positions, according to the report. 

Rather than continue with old recruitment methods, the city could soon look to social media to increase its pool of diverse candidates. According to the staff report, recruitment agencies report that job ads with video embedded see 800% more engagement and recruiting websites see 20 times more applications than job boards. 

Staff argues that by building a stronger online presence, the city can enhance community relations and trust, with social media acting as both recruitment and as an outreach tool by sharing positive interactions between the public and law enforcement. 

“We must address ongoing challenges in recruiting top-notch officers,” City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz said in an email statement. “Leveraging social media and modern recruitment practices will help us reach a broader and more diverse audience reflective of our community and present the Redwood City Police Department as an appealing career choice.”

A ranking system rated the five bids the city received on five areas — qualifications and experience, the quality of a vendor’s references, projected costs, the quality and relevance of a bid’s illustrative examples, and the projected timeline. 

Though two firms proposed cheaper bids, All-Star Talent came out on top after being graded on all five elements with a bid cost amount of $161,350 for two years of work. All-Star Talent’s bid was about $100,000 cheaper than two additional bids. 

Included in All-Star Talent’s service offerings is help developing a department brand and brand materials like logos, messages, taglines and more, creating a marketing and recruitment website, improving the department’s social media presence through advertising on major platforms and providing other technical support. 

“After a review of the proposals, city staff determined that All-Star Talent represents the best value to the department in proven field use with reliable references from nearby city departments,” read the staff report. “All-Star Talent’s references were all consistent with very high satisfaction ratings from their clients and proven to have attracted a higher number of qualified candidates, meeting their department’s hiring goals.” 

The contract is listed under the consent calendar, a section of the agenda with multiple items considered routine in nature that are typically approved with a single motion. 

The City Council will meet in the Council Chambers at 1017 Middlefield Road at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22. The meeting will be streamed live at www.redwoodcity.org and on Comcast Channel 27, AT&T U-verse Channel 99 and Zoom. Public comments can be made in person or submitted by email to publiccomment@redwoodcity.org with the agenda item number as the subject line. *67 (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID:  994 8182 5639.