Why Vehicle Wraps and Flashy Gimmicks Fail in Police Recruiting
The Realities of Modern Recruitment: Why It's Time to Move Beyond Eye-Catching Marketing and Focus on Substance
Our first Dodge Charger was also our first wrapped recruiting vehicle. I was assigned in Media Relations at the time and saw this vehicle as viable social media currency. I had the fleet guy drive it to the top of a parking garage where we were able to position the vehicle adorned with the city skyline against the actual skyline.
The unique innovative recruiting strategy
At that time, I muttered the same phrase that goes through my mind today: ‘If we aren’t going to make all the cars look like this, an expensive wrap, then why are we doing it to this car?’ It remains an unsolved mystery. There were others I was quietly critical of including a seized Maserati Quattroporte with agency livery and a roof light bar as well as new Tahoes wrapped in the potentially polarizing ‘Courage Wanted’ messaging. Miami Beach P.D. is using a $250,000 loaner Rolls Royce as a wrapped recruiting vehicle. I hesitate to mention them, but these were all promoted loudly in social media demonstrating their recruiting efforts. Does a law enforcement agency expect potential recruits to be seeing themselves in a sexy Italian sedan powered by a Ferrari-derived engine rolling patrol?
Somehow, military themed police recruiting vehicles are even worse. We can agree that there is no science behind the idea of the digital camouflage pattern on the vehicle. The pitch is... ’we’re driving to an out-of-town military base, to participate in an armed forces job fair, and the sight of the vehicle will be relatable to veteran on the road who, through some overwhelming tyranny of will, has previously resisted the urge to translate their military experience into a law enforcement career, until they see our wrapped Ford Explorer.’
The answer to the question, and many law enforcement veterans have this figured out since the patterns rarely change, is that we are doing it because everyone else is doing it. Most job fairs are low traffic and have a growing volume of time for networking between recruiters because less and less people are going to job fairs. Sharing ‘best practices’ even becomes competitive, and the conversation rarely excludes cars.
I was told that at the police academy while setting up a recruiting seminar last autumn, that turnout was so low for job fairs that they had no interest in doing more in the future.
However the fact remains that vehicle wraps are likely substantially less effective than matchbook covers from years past. They’ll get beyond more locked doors than any wrapped car. Can we be honest enough to say that recruiting vehicle wraps are what the real marketing industry views them, as rolling billboards? Can we further admit that they are far less consistent in their marketing than stationary billboards?
If billboards worked for police recruiting, you would see more of them in all areas. An exception proving the rule is the Georgia State Patrol posts effective billboards in Florida. Wisely, they are only facing northbound traffic.
Dr.
and I often agree, and it was no exception when I asked him about vehicle wraps. He states:“Whether it’s billboards, wraps, websites or videos, the idea that branding will significantly help with recruiting is not only faulty but very expensive. Many of our clients tried all that and more before coming to us and when we can target individuals rather than blanketing everyone, recruiting turns around.”
You will find a treasure trove of rich content at his Substacks:
and the upcoming podcast .Recruiting past
Thirty years ago, an ideal candidate for law enforcement was a college educated military veteran with no criminal or significant traffic record regardless of gender or race. If you weren’t that person, you wouldn’t want to compete head to head for a police job against them because you would certainly lose.
As a profession, we need to take the challenges of recruiting more seriously. In 1994, filling out the 32-page application took the best part of the week. I still say that filling out my application by hand, instead of using the available typewriter, was a pivotal opportunity to demonstrate my legible handwriting as more than half of our reports were handwritten at that time. My process stretched from January to beginning the academy on August 1st. There were at least six occasions that required me to take time off work including civil service testing, physical exams, psychological exam, polygraph exams and interviews. I was fortunate to live in the area, but many in my class did not and traveled several times to get hired.
Prior to the police academy, I was a bank teller in college. On the first day of the academy, the only person I recognized in my class was a customer from the bank who worked at a grocery store. He was a combat veteran United States Marine who served during Operation Desert Storm. I was sponsored but he paid his own way hoping to get hired and worked almost full-time while excelling at the academy. He was hired by our agency about six months after he graduated from the academy on his own dime and passed the state test. He served with distinction for 28 years.
Recruiting present
Some years ago, my wife ordered a set of tires for my truck and completed the transaction on her phone by the time we reached the next traffic signal. She ordered the correct tires, scheduled the appointment and ordered road hazard and lifetime balance, all from the passenger seat on her connected device. Things have changed. Everything we can afford and want can be on your doorstep by the next day with a few clicks and swipes. Those interested in jobs in stores and fast foods are directed to an inconspicuous kiosk to fill out your job application on a modified tablet.
Those in the recruiting game today now realize that they are competing against other agencies. There is some innovation where some testing is done in banquet halls on out of town trips but major parts of the process still drag on. These processes only have some trappings of modernization such as putting application forms online. When you consider, many of the hoops we require the applicant to jump through only have to do with risk management, we might consider the innovation of life insurance companies who issue thousands of policies never having seen their client in person. They’ve figured out to determine client risk, often from different time zones, by farming out chunks to different vendors.
Safeguard Recruiting (not a paid endorsement) has found the key to successful recruiting campaigns is getting and keeping the applicant engaged in the process from first contact. We’ve seen this in our shopping experiences where you show interest in one product and the vendor offers you other suggestions. Safeguard Recruiting knows how to actually recruit and bring applicants, but if the agency’s process is 1990s state of the art, where background investigations choke the funnel, you’re just going to lose your candidates.
First responder recruiting, in all public safety disciplines, needs a hard ctrl-alt-del reboot.
The guys from Safeguard don’t conceal the best practices hoping to make a sale. They’ll show how their expertise plays into the grand plan, and agencies will likely find what they bring to the table is the most cost effective element.
But I can tell you what it won’t include: a wrapped recruiting vehicle. The static vehicle display that will interest the best candidates will be an actual working squad car with some belt buckle scratches on the fenders, some stripes from branches, a little bit of diamond plate, an extra pair of handcuffs or two on the spotlight handle, brake dust and mobile data terminal with some fingerprint smudges. That’s the vehicle that will inspire the next generation of law enforcement professionals.
Please keep all of our first responders in your prayers.
Roland Clee served a major Florida police department as a Community Service Officer for more than 26 years. His career included uniformed patrol, training, media relations, intelligence, criminal investigations, and chief’s staff. He writes the American Peace Officer newsletter, speaks at public safety, recruiting and leadership conferences and helps local governments and public safety agencies through his business, CommandStaffConsulting.com. His work is frequently featured on LawOfficer.com, the only law enforcement owned major media presence in the public safety realm.
He is also honored to serve as the Director of Engagement for Shepherds and Sheepdogs, LTD on the team hosting the inaugural conference in Orlando, May 12-14. Three days of exceptional speakers who will help first responders revolutionize the way we treat, train, and lead! Click below to find out more.
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"I want to be like that guy"- hasn't been uttered by a prospective candidate in years, We have lost the thing that made people want to become a member of the team. Treating our team poorly, abandoning standards, and neglecting the human element in all that we do has this thing of ours dying a slow death. Its people like you and Dr Travis Yates that will resuscitate the profession, bringing it back to life!
Wouldn’t hurt to put officers back in actual uniforms that don’t look like Russian commando clothing.