Detroit Police Academy cadet Rueben Yesreal, 24, at the Detroit Police Training Center, located on 6050 Linwood in an old DPS middle school.(Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

What: Detroit Police Department recruiting fair

When: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Detroit Public Safety Headquarters, 1301 Third



DETROIT — Inside "Science Room A 226" of the former Albert for McMichaels Middle School in Detroit, 20 of the city's newest potential police officers on Wednesday sat rigid and attentive in their chairs.

Their faces are young, most in their early-20s, some younger. The 16 men have buzzed heads; the four women have their hair rolled up tightly in small buns.

If it weren't for their matching khaki pants, button up shirts and black ties — and their ramrod postures — this could be an undergraduate lecture in nearly any college across this nation.

Before them are fat 470-sheet binders, notepads, pens and pencils. At the front of the room an instructor discusses what police authority officers retain while off-duty or out of their jurisdiction.

After a couple hours of rigorous training each day, the recruits put on ties, line them up with their belt buckes and zippers and check their shirt creases before heading off to the classroom for the remainder of the day.

As the academy progresses, Commander Dwayne L. Love, who oversees training, says they'll spend increasingly more time performing "field work," shooting firearms, practicing active-shooter training and making mock arrests.

Should they make it through the 6-month academy and beyond the one-year probationary period, these young men and woman will join the police department for one of the nation's most violent and fiscally unstable cities.

As the force continues to lose sworn officers on a daily basis, as many as 25 per month according to Chief James Craig, these are the first Detroit Police Department recruits to pass through this academy in over a year.

The Detroit Police Training Center, located on 6050 Linwood in an old DPS middle school, trains cadets in the academy and current Detroit Police officers with continued training. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

The halls of the former middle school at 6050 Linwood in a neighborhood pockmarked with burned and abandoned homes are mostly silent, except for some staff and a group of active-duty officers training with police batons in the echo-filled gym as part of a 40-hour in-service training week.

It's been this way for some time. A couple years ago, the recruiting unit was all but disbanded and reassigned, says Inspector LaShanda Houser, the recently appointed director of personnel. She replaced Loletha Knox-Porter during an Orr-led department head shakeup that occurred after Chief James Craig took the helm.

The recruiting deficiencies of the department came to light when an order came down to hire 60 new officers.

"When there was a rush to get these people hired right away, there weren’t enough people in the pool to pull from based on when the chief wanted to start the class," said Houser.

The Detroit Police Training Center, located on 6050 Linwood in an old DPS middle school, trains cadets in the academy and current Detroit Police officers with continued training. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

The department could only find 25 people, some applicants from three or more years ago, who still wanted the job. Five of those recruits dropped out within the first weeks of the academy.

Whereas some police departments allow their recruits to attend any state police academy before becoming a sworn officer, the Detroit Police Department requires its recruits to go through the department academy, regardless of prior training.

Love said it is one of the most respected — and the oldest — academies in the state.

On day one, the recruits become Detroit Police Department employees. They receive full medical benefits and earn a $29,347 annual salary with a $1,000 increase upon completion of the academy.

Houser's goal is to resupply the pool of potential officers beginning with a recruiting fair this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the new Detroit Public Safety Headquarters, 1301 Third.

The department is looking for at least 40 new officers immediately.

Interest is strong she says. As many as 25 people per day began inquiring as soon as Craig announced the planned hiring. The department Facebook page is also experiencing an unusually high number of visitors, 10,000 this week alone, since the recruiting fair was announced.



The current officer count is 2,419, nearly 300 less than the 2012 officer count, based on state police figures and Houser said it's likely the department will begin recruiting more aggressively to bolster those lost to attrition, but there is not currently and official order.

The Detroit Police Training Center, located on 6050 Linwood in an old DPS middle school, trains cadets in the academy and current Detroit Police officers with continued training. Left to right: Police Officer Sean Wayrynen and Police Officer Justin Woodbeck (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

The last time the department held a recruitment fair was in 2004. At the time more than 500 people filled out "interest cards," sort of a pre-application used by the department to verify the basic requirements: They are 18, have a driver's license, earned a GED or high school diploma and have no felonies.

From that pool, a select group of applicants are called back to attend an orientation and endure a more thorough background check of their credit, previous employment references and other personal information before being accepted into the academy.

Love admits the academy isn't for everyone.

In addition to the crushing physical requirements, cadets must endure a break-you-down-and build-you-back-up paramilitary training style.

Trainers wear campaign hats, like the ones worn by the menacing drill instructor in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket."

"They’re in your face, they’re hollering at you, they’re making you do pushups and pullups... and they do a lot of team building and building you up as well," said Love. "Being a Detroit police officer can be very demanding, so mentally and physically you’ve got to be ready and tough to make it through it."

Complicating matters is the culture of youth today, says Love.

"This generation we have now, they don't run and play and be as active as we were as kids... there's a lot of physical exertion that they have to get used to," Love said. "And we’re a paramilitary organization too, so a lot of younger generations they want to know, ‘Why, why, why?’ all the time when you have to tell them to do something. That’s a culture change as well because you have to learn how to take orders."

As to why someone would want to join this department at such a dire time in the city's history: Houser says recruits are drawn to the Detroit Police Department because it's a place where you can feel your impact immediately, and because of the traditionally good pension and benefits, which are for the time being at least still in tact.

"Anything you like to do in life, you can find a place in this department that applies to that," said Love. "And there's room for advancement in a big department."

Although Craig indicated he intends to narrow the scope of a Detroit police officer's duties, currently there are an array of jobs within the department ranging from standard police work to graphic design and beyond.

The dive team, harbor master, mechanic work, a helicopter crew, SWAT, working with the schools, undercover assignments, bomb detection, K-9 handling and more are all career paths available within the department.

Rueben Yesrael, 24, of Detroit and Alexander Stellini, 22, of Taylor, have been matched as academy partners. They are already learning to count on elevate one another.

Ruben Yesrael, 24, of Detroit and Alexander Stellini, 22 of Taylor are two of Detroit's newest police recruits. The Detroit Police Training Center, located on 6050 Linwood in an old DPS middle school, trains cadets in the academy and current Detroit Police officers with continued training. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

After being called to the hallway, they stop in the doorway to inspect the symmetry and lines of each others' uniforms.

They maintain emotionless, serious faces until they are told to be at ease.

"Sir," leaves their mouths before and after nearly every sentence.

Yesrael, a former Burger King manager who received the call to join the academy after applying three years ago, says he's found himself continuing the practice even at home.

He knew he wanted to become a police officer when he was 7 years old.

Yesrael recalls riding in a car with a relatives when they broke down on the side of the road with a flat tire. It was a Detroit police officer who stopped to help.

"We were stranded," he says. "Me just being a little kid in the back seat and just seeing that uniform... It was like they just don't catch bad guys; they actually help people."

Stellini attended Michigan State University to obtain a criminal justice degree.

"I worked at Michigan State University's Police Department while I was there," he says. "Seeing the kind of work that they did in a university setting, kind of a higher-end setting, I kinda knew it's not what I wanted to do.

"I wanted to be in a setting where I could affect change, where I could do more proactive police work."

He chose Detroit.

In addition to recruiting new potential police officers, the Detroit Police Department is looking to recruit reserve police officers. The volunteer force assists with policing activities but are not sworn. Houser says the reserves is a good way for aspiring officers to network, learn and increase their chances of being hired by the Detroit Police Department.