Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Human Resources Commissioner Soo Choi announced the selection of Brown Farmer Media Group, Inc. to support the City’s outreach and recruiting campaigns aimed at increasing the diversity among candidates taking the 2017 Police Officer entry exam.
“As a city, we recognize the importance of having people from all backgrounds among those that serve and protect our communities,” said Mayor Emanuel. “With this selection, we are continuing to expand on efforts to recruit applicants that reflect the diverse communities that they will serve.”
“I have made a commitment to build community faith and trust in CPD and building a Department that reflects the diversity of our neighborhoods is key to reaching that goal,” said CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson. “I firmly believe our partnership with Brown Farmer will allow us to meet our aggressive hiring goals while attracting the most qualified applicants to become Chicago police officers.”
The selection of Brown Farmer Media Group, a minority-and-woman owned business, underscores the Police Department’s commitment to achieve its aggressive hiring goals while also laying the groundwork for a more diverse police department. Diversity within the Department’s senior command ranks is already at historic levels. Sixty percent of police chiefs and 50 percent of deputy chiefs are African American, and more women are serving in executive leadership roles than at any previous point in the Department’s history.
“The Department of Human Resources looks forward to working with Deborah Farmer and the Brown Farmer Media Group, as we build on recent progress in recruiting a diverse applicant pool for the police entry exam,” Commissioner Soo Choi said. “We remain committed to attracting more individuals who are reflective of the communities they serve and the City of Chicago.”
The Deborah Farmer Group will build on the gains achieved during the Police Department’s first diversity recruitment campaign last year. The 2016 campaign, recognized as a national model by the Department of Justice Violence Reduction Network, encompassed a combination of grassroots outreach, traditional print and radio advertising, and online and social media marketing. As part of the overall innovations made to the 2016 application process, candidates were able to apply from their phones and reduced-price parking was provided at McCormick Place on the day of the exam.
“This is the perfect time to partner with the city I love to create a campaign that will help address the challenging times we are facing,” said Deborah Olivia Farmer, president and CEO of the Brown Farmer Group. “That adversity presents a great opportunity for change. No longer can we sit on the sidelines, it is time to show our resilience and implement strategies and ideas.”
The Brown Farmer Media Group, Inc. is a premier, full-service communications firm specializing in brand development, social media marketing and strategic partnerships.
