I stopped by The Village of Camden meeting this past Monday. Most of the meeting was taken up by Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard’s “theory of change” presentation, about the logic behind the changes the school district has made in Camden. That certainly deserves its own post. But there was an announcement at the end of the meeting that caught my eye for a couple of different reasons: Pastor Amir Kahn announced that until August 31st, Camden residents can sign up to take the Civil Service Test to be put in the pool to be a Camden police officer. 

Here is the Pastor’s full statement on facebook: 

DO YOU DESIRE TO BE A POLICE OFFICER.
CIVIL SERVICE EXAM IS FAST APPROACHING FOR CAMDEN RESIDENTS.

If you have a desire to become a police officer in the city of Camden, even if it’s only a thought, take the civil service test in September. The Camden County Police Department will offer preparation classes in August however you must register.
A resolution has been passed which allows “residency preference to hire law enforcement officers for CCPD to show primary preference to residents of city of Camden, followed next by Camden County, residents of contiguous counties, followed by the rest of the state”.
They are looking for, “those that have particular knowledge and familiarity with the city in which they will be serving”.
Currently the CCPD is approximately 100 officers short of their budgeted goal and 50 short from this time last year. The chief of police is limited to only hire from the pool of those individuals that have passed the civil service exam. This exam is only offered every 3-4 years so we must fill this pool with hundreds of Camden residents now to take care of the immediate need and to replace the other officers, when they leave. Currently there are approximately 100 positions to replace each year.
If the pool of civil service applicants to pull from only have a handful of Camden residents, after those are depleted, the CCPD will be forced to bring in others from outside of Camden.
For more information, dates for the preparation classes and civil service exam, please inbox, text, or email me directly.

Pastor Amir Khan
856-313-0155
amirmmkhan@gmail.com

And here is the attached flier: 

There are a couple of things here I want to address. First of all — I think it’s really neat, and long overdue, that there seems to be an effort to have Camden residents take the test. At the Village, Pastor Kahn implied that there would be some prep opportunities both at police headquarters and at community locations.

I can’t claim to understand the politics behind the offering of civil service tests, and have no idea why it has taken so long to get one set up locally. I also wish there was a more formalized push to both train and recruit Camdenites to take this test. But I admire those (including Pastor Kahn and others involved in this effort) who are trying to fill that void. 

I’m hearing more and more often in my own research some version of the line, with the metro police we all became suspects. It’s a telling line that shows how community policing need go beyond ice cream and basketball games, and must address the implicit biases officers bring to the job. It has always seemed disingenuous that the push for community policing happened alongside a whitewashing of the Camden police force. I’m not sure the extent to which this provides an alternative to that path, and I’m not sure if there is sufficient infrastructure to support Camden residents seeking these jobs, but I believe it’s a step in the right direction. 

But I’m also painfully aware, especially from the conversations I’m having with young people on and off campus, that there is a lot of trust that needs to be built with communities of color to even make the aspiration to be a police officer possible. Many of those in our own community who will need jobs over the next decade have had difficult experiences with local officers, and will be skeptical of becoming part of that team. Just as prep work and organizing needs to go towards ensuring local candidates have the support necessary to pass the civil service exam, there will need to be work down the line to show another vision of an officer, one that inspires local youths to join the team. In my research, I’ve heard (and can’t wait to share) stories about what it means to have local officers on the force. Yes, it helps build the tax base. But it also helps to ensure residents are treated with compassion and like humans. We have a long way to go to make that vision of an officer a reality and an even longer way for the most vulnerable youth in Camden to see the force that way.

I’m hopeful that organizing Camden residents for the civil service exam can be a small step in that direction.

Tags: metro police